Obey Me Konoha
by swirlheart
Summary: The time skip doesn't seem to have made Naruto any smarter in some aspects. Case and point, he discovers a way to hypnotize people and STILL can't get Sakura to date him! That's fine, he has his hands full with everything else that's going wrong with the people he's already put under. It gets even worse when Gaara comes to the Leaf for a visit. Rated T to be safe. R&R PLZ!
1. Strange Souvenir

**Naruto Obey Me Konoha!**

The time skip doesn't seem to have made Naruto any smarter in some aspects. Case and point, he discovers a way to hypnotize people and STILL can't get Sakura to date him! That's fine, he has his hands full with everything else that's going wrong with the people he's already put under. It gets even worse when Gaara comes to the Leaf for a visit. R&R plz

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or any of the characters. That right goes to Masashi Kishimoto. Now on to the fun!

 **Chapter 1: Strange Souvenir**

Team Seven had gone through some changes over the past couple of years. One of the major ones being Sasuke's departure. He left the village and expressed no desires to come back any time soon. His replacement was Sai, another change. A very strange one in Naruto's opinion. From day one, he thought Sai was a little on the strange side. Sai had turned out to be a valuable team member and a good friend, even if he was a little dense in some aspects. He was just ignorant when it came to friendship and social situations. Another change was their sensei. Kakashi joined them on several missions but there was another man who would accompany them when Kakashi could not and his name was Yamato. He was another weirdo in Naruto's opinion. The team was older and stronger. They went on more missions, Sakura had more skills than she did before, including monstrous strength.

Despite all the new goings-on, some things never changed. No matter how hard he tried, no matter how much he begged or pleaded, Sakura would not go out with Naruto. She absolutely refused. Naruto had been trying for years but she was adamant about staying 'just friends' with him. And he was lucky to get that.

Still, Naruto never gave up. He kept trying. He believed one day he would impress her enough to get her attention. Or at the very least a pity date. For now, every time he asked he would get a punch to the stomach or a very loud 'no' to the face in front of everyone. He saw it as an improvement. Before she would just walk away from him without a word. At least now she engaged him verbally or made physical contact. One day he would get his chance and get that date. One day he would win her affection.

He thought he had a chance today during their mission but that was a hopeless failure. The mission was a success but Naruto's chances of a date never stood a chance. Naruto walked behind Sakura on the way back to the Leaf Village with Sai. Sai had been appointed leader on this mission which meant they would both have to listen to him. Now that they were heading back, Sai was more flexible about what they did between here and the front gate. This came into light when they passed through a small shopping area just outside of a tiny village.

"Hey, check it out." Naruto pointed to one of the shops. It was a small rundown building hidden by overgrown trees and shrubs. It looked like a novelty shop. Where the other stores sold clothing and produce, this one sold items Naruto found very interesting.

Sakura looked at the overgrown shop wrinkling her nose. "Why would you want to go in there? The place is probably dirty. I mean, look at the outside of it. The owner doesn't seem to keep up with anything."

Naruto's stomach growled. "They could have food."

"It's probably expired, Naruto! Everything about this place looks old and rundown. It's probably not even in business anymore. Let's keep moving. You can eat when we get back to the village."

"But I'm hungry now!" he whined. He couldn't wait. He was already climbing the wooden stairs to the front door.

"Naruto, get back here!" she ordered.

"Come on!" Naruto turned around. "I thought girls liked shopping."

"Not in that dirty old place!" She turned away folding her arms.

Sai was smiling. "But girls enjoy getting gifts. And you wouldn't have to step inside."

"That's right. I'll buy you a gift."

"I don't want anything from there. And Sai, you stay out of this."

"I was only..."

"We need to get back to the village."

"That can wait!" Naruto protested. "I'll be really quick, ok? I'm just getting a candy bar or something."

"Sai, tell him!"

"Tell him what?" Sai was a little confused.

"Tell him we don't have time for this! We need to get back home."

Sai looked at the shop and then to his watch. Then he looked at Sakura. "Actually, we have time. The village is less than an hour away and it's the only noon or so. We have plenty of time. Lady Tsunade doesn't expect us back so soon."

"Yeah, listen to Sai," Naruto pointed. "Just let me get something quick to munch on and we'll go."

Sakura growled. It seemed like everyone on this team was against her. "Sai, set up a time limit!"

"Huh?"

"Five minutes!" Sakura held up her hand, all five fingers raised. "He has five minutes to find himself something to eat. That's it. If he's not out of there in five minutes, we drag him out."

"What?" Naruto whined.

Sai nodded. "Seems appropriate."

"What? No, it's not!"

"Why not?" he asked. "Surely you can find a candy bar in such a small store in less than five minutes. Just grab something and go."

"That's right," Sakura added. "And time is ticking, Naruto. Better hurry up."

Groaning loudly, Naruto dragged his feet up the stairs. He pushed open the wooden door, the dusty bell ringing above his head. Naruto stepped inside. The shop really was small and not very well kept. Many of the shelves were covered in dust. Luckily there was a whole rack of candy by the front desk for a good price. He stepped forward and started checking them out. There was a decent selection and they didn't look like they had been sitting out long.

The woman behind the desk breathed a sigh of relief when she saw him walk in and take a look around. "Oh, good," she said. "My first customer in a week."

"A whole week, huh?" Naruto picked out a candy bar and started to unwrap it, unable to wait. "Why's that?"

"Oh, I suppose it's because people don't care much for novelties these days."

Naruto looked around at the snow-globes and teddy-bears tinted gray with dust. "Are you sure it's not because you don't clean this place?" he asked bluntly.

The woman chuckled politely. "I know I don't look it, but I'm getting on in years. I don't have the energy to clean as much as I used to. My family has moved on to other places so I'm here by myself, running the place by my lonesome."

"Uh-huh." Naruto took another bite of the candy in his hand as he leaned closer to the lower shelves. He poked books with his finger and blew dust off small music boxes. Then he got to a display case near the back of the store by the front desk. There were various rings and jewels behind the glass. Beside them he found a series of small boxes. Every one of them was closed so he couldn't see what was inside.

"Naruto!" Sakura shouted from outside. "What's taking so long?! You've got two minutes!"

The woman looked at him with a grin. "Is that your girlfriend I hear out there?"

"I wish," Naruto scoffed. "Say, you wouldn't happen to have anything that could make a girl like you, do you?"

"Like a love potion?"

"I'm hoping for anything at this point," he remarked. "I've tried everything but no matter what I do she won't go out with me. I even offered to pay and everything. One time I bought her a bikini I thought she'd look great in and she slapped me. I even told her I wanted to see her try it on. She choked me with it. I don't understand..."

The woman chuckled.

"It's not funny." Naruto banged his head against the glass case. "I get no respect from anybody. Not even my friends. What do I have to do?"

The woman tapped the desk to get his attention. "I may not have any love potions but I may be able to help with something else."

"Really? What?" Naruto was getting excited.

The woman opened the glass case beside the desk pulling out one of the long sealed boxes. She carefully closed the case and handed it to him. "This may do the trick. It's helped many people in the past, I understand."

Naruto looked at the sealed box, turning it over in his hands. "What is it? Magic or something?"

She laughed. "Close to it. Listen, you seem like a nice boy. I can't imagine why no one would respect you. I'm surprised you don't have a girl in your life who's just crazy about you."

"You and me both, lady."

She pointed to the box. "I think you can make good use of that as long as you're responsible. Just make sure you're careful with it. It can break."

"Yeah, but what is it?" he asked her. All he saw was a box. He had no idea what was inside.

"Inside contains a single necklace. You put it on and..." The woman started to chuckle again. "Well, there's a piece of paper inside explaining. Just be careful like I said. It should be able to get you what you want."

"Thanks. I-"

"Naruto!" Sakura boomed from outside. It sounded like his time was up.

Naruto fished around in his pocket for money. "How much?"

The woman shook her head. "Take it. And the candy, too. Think of it as a gift for being my first customer in a long time."

"Wow! Thanks, lady!" Naruto stuffed the box into his jacket pocket as he made for the door. "You're awesome. Bye!"

The woman waved him off as the bell chimed above his head as he stepped outside. He jumped down the wooden steps and landed between Sakura and Sai.

"I can't believe it took you five minutes to get that." Sakura pointed to the half-eaten candy bar in his left hand.

"Oh. Well, I-"

"Don't care. Let's just get back, ok?"

Sai and Naruto let her take the lead away from the shopping area and into the woods.

"Why's she so mad?" Naruto wondered aloud.

Sai watched Sakura walk ahead of him, studying her movements. "Hmm... It seems that perhaps she expected a gift after all and you didn't deliver so she's upset."

"But she said she didn't want anything from there."

"Hmm..." Sai tried to remember his readings. "I read in a book once that women will often say they don't want something when they actually do, expecting a second party to figure it out for themselves. Seems it's the girl's way to seem less demanding and to test how attentive the others are to her wants and needs." Sai tilted his head to one side. "Either that, or it could be that time of the month where there's just no pleasing them. Sakura does seem more agitated than usual. Her walking also seems slightly out of rhythm and uneasy. She also seems slightly bloated today. Either she's eaten too much or she-"

Sai was silenced with Sakura's fist to his face.

* * *

Jumping right into the fun next chapter.

Please review! ^-^


	2. Strange Necklace

**Chapter 2: Strange Necklace**

During the entire trip back to the village, Naruto kept feeling the narrow box hidden under his jacket. He couldn't stop thinking about it. The woman told him that it could get him anything he wanted. He was so excited. Did this mean he would finally get his date with Sakura? He hoped so. He couldn't wait to get home and check it out. He wanted to pull it out right now and try it out, but there were two things stopping him. First of all, he had no idea what it was or how it worked. He couldn't go in blindly and hope for the best. He had to figure it out. Secondly, he couldn't do it with Sakura around. If he didn't have the skill or knowledge to use its power and she found out what he was trying to do... Well, a punch to the face wasn't going to suffice.

 _Yeah, that'll go over real well. 'Hey Sakura, I'm going to use this to get a date out of you. What do you say?' Yeah, she'll kill me_. Naruto could not pull it out now. He had to wait until he got home.

Once they reached the gate to the village, Naruto picked up the pace. The moment he was beyond the entrance to the village, he started running toward his apartment. Both Sakura and Sai grabbed his arms, pulling him back. "Where do you think you're going?" asked Sakura. "We have to check in with the Hokage, remember? Have you forgotten how this works?"

"Oh, come on!" he whined. "You guys can do that without me. Why do I have to go?"

"We left as a team and we return as a team."

He groaned. He wanted to get home so much and now he would have to wait even longer. Hopefully, if they hurried, he could get home faster. He decided not to complain and lead them to the Hokage building instead. The faster they got this done, the sooner he would get to go home.

Not watching where he was going, Naruto stepped on something and was knocked off balance.

"Ow!" Naruto turned around and saw Neji hopping on one leg, glaring at him. "Watch where you're going, Naruto. You stepped on my foot."

"Why do I have to watch? You have the Byakugan. Shouldn't you be watching where you're going?"

Neji frowned. "The decent thing to do would be to apologize."

"Well, I'm in a hurry so..."

Neji grabbed the back of his jacket, refusing to let him leave. "In the time it took you to explain that, you could have said you were sorry and been on your way."

"Fine, fine! I'm sorry, ok?"

"That's better." Neji released him.

Naruto shrugged off Neji's hand and tried to pull his jacket back down one-handed. "Why do you have to be like that anyway? Everything I do is wrong, isn't it?"

"No. I just don't like your attitude. I don't like how you never take things seriously and you don't seem to have any manners."

"I do so!"

"The last mission we went on together, you called the master of the house 'old man'. That isn't rude to you?"

"But he was."

"That doesn't mean you should say it. He took it as an insult," Neji went on. "And since I was appointed leader of that mission, it was a reflection of myself and my leadership skills. That man had a poor first impression of me. I'm responsible and accountable for everything my team does or does not do. He had a poor opinion of me from the get-go and didn't think we could handle the job, saying that we were just kids."

"So what? It's not like we're ever going to see him again."

"We will if he asks for our aid again." Neji muttered under his breath, "Not that he would, given his experience with us that time."

Sakura roughly slapped Naruto's shoulder. "He's right, Naruto. You need to learn to watch your mouth."

"Why do you always take his side?"

"Because he's right most of the time."

Neji turned and started to walk away without another word.

Naruto called after him. "Where are you going?"

"Training," he answered simply. "I have to get going or I'll be late." He continued walking.

Naruto turned away and started toward the Hokage building again. The sooner they got this over with, the better.

* * *

After meeting with Lady Tsunade, the team was allowed to leave and do what they wished. Sakura announced that she was going to relax for the rest of the day, and Sai didn't say where he was going. He just left the moment they were dismissed. Naruto bolted from the building and ran home as fast as he could. He ignored everything on his way there. He passed by Lee doing handstands on the sidewalk and Kiba and Akamaru chasing each other playfully in the grass. He passed Ino and Tenten having a conversation outside the bathhouse and he passed by a very red-faced Hinata behind a lamppost.

He ran into the building, up the stairs and into his apartment. He ran inside, slammed the door shut, locked it and ran to his kitchen table. He reached into his jacket and took out the small narrow box, setting it on the table. This was the moment he had been waiting for. Very carefully, Naruto peeled the tape off the sides of the box and slid the top off.

Inside was a lone necklace. It was a long silver chain with a clasp at the end. There was a jewel. This chain carried a single ornament. It looked like a clear diamond, no larger than the nail on his finger. He was expecting more from the way the woman talked about it. Looks could be deceiving. Maybe there was more to it than he was seeing.

Pulling out the necklace, Naruto held it in the palm of his hand. He didn't feel anything. No power resonating from its jewel, no warmth, nothing that would indicate that it possessed a great power. Naruto felt a little disappointed. He looked back in the box. Inside was a single piece of paper folded in half. It was the size of an index card. If these were instructions, there wasn't much to it.

By wearing this necklace, you now have the ability to command others to do your bidding.

This can only occur once you have taken the proper actions.

What does this mean?

Put simply, the wearer of this necklace will be granted the ability to use hypnosis on others.

The instructions were pretty straightforward and simple. The short explanation was easy for Naruto to understand what he had in his hands. "So this necklace lets me use hypnosis? Sweet!"

He had seen hypnosis performed on television and during magic shows. According to most of the people he spoke with, this was all staged. People like Sakura, Sai, Neji, Shino and a whole handful of others he could name never believed any of this was real. If people could actually be hypnotized into acting like farm animals then they were pretty weak-willed. Now was the perfect chance to prove them wrong.

"So I can use this necklace to make Sakura fall in love with me and be my girlfriend. That must be what the woman was talking about. I have to try it out!" Naruto was already clasping the necklace around his neck. Making sure it was in place and securely fastened around his neck, Naruto tucked the empty box along with the little note into an open drawer and made his way to the door, eager to try out its power.

But then he stopped.

"Wait a minute. I can't just go up to Sakura and use this thing. I have no idea what I'm doing!" The note told him that he would have the power to use hypnosis on people but it never explained how. "If I try using this on Sakura and it doesn't work, she'll kick my ass!"

He had to figure this out. Before he tried using it to get what he wanted from her, he had to first figure out how to use its power. He had to test it out first. Naruto sat down on the floor, thinking. After a while, he came up with a possible solution.

"I'll need a guinea pig. First I'll test it out on someone and see if it works."

Now the question was who that test subject would be. It had to be someone easy enough to use it on so they won't know what's happening but it couldn't be someone easy to put under if it did work. Sakura was smart. If he tested it out on an idiot and it worked only because they were easily tricked and then he tried it out on her it may not work at all. He had to make sure it was performed on someone willing to stand around and be put under without being a complete moron. They had to be smart enough so it wouldn't be considered a fluke.

"Let's see... I could try using it on Kiba. He's pretty willing... No, that won't work. He'll know what I'm trying to do. Even if he doesn't, Akamaru will. He'll bark and snap Kiba out of it before I have a chance. Besides, if I tell him what I'm trying to do and tell him that I'm testing it out, he'll blab to Sakura and she'll kill me! No, I have to do it on someone who won't realize I'm trying to hypnotize them." This was harder than he thought. "I could try it out on Lee... but he's so gullible. Even if it works on him, Sakura's way smarter. That won't prove anything. Hmm... Maybe Sai? I could try it out on him. He's already pretty weird. He probably won't understand what I'm doing."

That may not work, either. Sai had a different kind of intelligence. He was dense when it came to social situations, but he was a pretty smart guy. There were two things Naruto saw right away that could be a problem. One, Sai was weird. Who knows what hypnosis could do to him or if it would even work on him? Second of all, with Sai being part of Anbu, he had extensive training. Naruto had no idea what that entailed, but if he saw Naruto come up to him and try to use hypnosis on him, he may attack. A number of things could go wrong using him to test it on.

"Nah, not Sai. He's so weird it may not work at all on him. He might also go up to Sakura and tell her what I tried to do and then she'll get all mad." Naruto moaned. This was definitely hard. "Maybe it should be on someone who thinks like Sakura... Someone smart but not gullible. Someone who will hold still long enough to listen to me... maybe not pay full attention so I can get them under..."

That's when it occurred to him. Sakura seemed to always be siding with one person lately. She had done so not twenty minutes ago: Neji. In Naruto's experience, Neji was very smart and wasn't easily fooled. He wasn't gullible like his teammate, Lee. He was pretty patient and willing to listen. He was a bit of a skeptic but he was usually willing to hear a person out. What Naruto liked about Neji was that he wasn't a tattletale. Even if something were to go wrong, it was unlikely that he would go around telling people about it, especially Sakura.

"I guess I could try it out on Neji first. If it works on him then it's bound to work on Sakura." Naruto stood up, tucking the necklace under his collar. "Now I just have to find him and get him alone so I can try it out."

* * *

Please review! ^-^


	3. Test Subject: Neji

**Chapter 3: Test Subject: Neji**

It turned out to be pretty easy to find Neji. He was walking out of a store carrying a small shopping bag in his left hand. Naruto called to him from around the corner. Neji came over without protest. "Yes?"

Naruto tried to play it cool. "Whatcha got there?" He pointed to the bag.

"Some water and tea."

"Nice. What for?"

Neji started to grow suspicious. "Drinking. I'm going over to my uncle's for training in a minute. He sent me out to pick these up. I did him a favor."

"Aw, that's nice of you."

Neji frowned, knowing Naruto was up to something. "Ok, what's going on?"

"Whatever do you mean?" Naruto tried to feign innocence. It wasn't going as well as he had hoped.

"You're up to something aren't you?"

"Me? No! Not at all." Naruto rubbed his chest where the necklace lay hidden. He wondered why it wasn't working. Maybe he wasn't doing it right. "So, Neji, how are you doing? You feeling alright? Tired at all?"

Neji gave him a suspicious look. "What are you really after?"

Maybe trying it out on Neji was a mistake. This didn't seem to be going well at all. He didn't seem to be going under hypnosis in the slightest. Maybe Naruto really wasn't doing it correctly. Maybe Neji had to actually see the necklace for it to work.

With that in mind, Naruto fished out the necklace and held it up for Neji to see. "I got a new necklace on the mission."

"Oh. Was it a gift?"

"Yeah, it was. It didn't cost me anything." Which was true. Naruto looked at Neji. His eyes were on the necklace. Now to make sure his eyes stayed there. "I was keeping it hidden because I was afraid it was a little girly. What do you think?"

Neji studied the necklace closely. "Mm... No, it doesn't seem to be very girly to me. Besides, it was a gift so its appearance is beyond your control."

"So no one's going to make fun of me for it?"

"I shouldn't think so."

"That's a relief." Naruto noticed that Neji was still staring at the necklace. He had to keep the conversation going or else Neji might walk away before he had a chance to properly test it. "We just got back an hour ago or so. Maybe less. The mission went well. But Sakura wants to take the day to rest."

"Was the mission difficult?" Neji asked, eyes glued to the jewel.

"No, it wasn't hard. But I'm kinda tired, too. Know what I mean?"

"Yeah."

Taking hold of the chain, Naruto slowly rotated the jewel so it spun slowly in front of him. Neji continued to watch it. "Did you have any missions recently?" Naruto asked him.

"Yeah. I had a couple with my team this week and one with another group of Jonin... It was an A ranked mission. It was... taxing." Neji's mind was starting to get a little foggy. It was becoming harder for him to think straight. This didn't go unnoticed by Naruto. He was pleased by Neji's slow response. Neji tried to go on. "The missions went well. Everything was ok in the end. No one got seriously hurt... or anything..."

"That's good." Naruto twisted the jewel in the other direction. "I bet you're tired after those missions, though. Am I right?"

This time it took Neji a little while to respond. "... Yeah."

It turned out to be right. Neji did need to see the necklace in order for it to work. Neji was starting to go under. Now that he was distracted, Naruto thought it would be easy to put him into a trance. He tried to mimic how he saw other people do it on those TV programs and on stage. But he had to be discrete.

"Sakura likes to go to the bath to relax. She takes a nice long soak in the warm water. The water's very relaxing, isn't it? Do you ever relax that way?"

Neji gave his head a little nod. "Yeah."

"Sometimes, on really hot days, I just go to bed and relax that way. I turn off all the lights, stay in the shade with the window open so I gets a nice breeze and take a nap. Have you ever done that?"

This time Neji only nodded. He didn't feel like talking anymore.

His grip on the shopping bag grew slack and it fell from his hand. Neji blinked his eyes and started to look down.

Naruto couldn't lose him now. It was really working. "Neji, look here."

Neji looked back at the necklace and forgot all about the bag by his feet.

"I bet you like to do a lot of things to relax after a mission, don't you?" Naruto had to get him to relax so he would fall into a trance. "You said you like to meditate, right? Is that relaxing to you? Just to clear your mind and think of nothing. Doesn't that sound nice? To relax, I'd think of an ocean. Just sitting there all by myself in the quiet, listening to the waves lapping up on the shore."

Neji's eyes started to droop slightly. Naruto had to keep trying. He had hoped Neji would be under by now.

"Have you ever been on an ocean before? Floating on a small boat or a raft? I love that feeling, don't you? Just having the gentle waves carry you off. Rocking you to sleep."

Neji's eyes drooped a little more. Then, as if suddenly remembering where he was, Neji opened his eyes more fully, trying to shake off the heaviness. "I should... get going..." He sounded like he was half asleep already. Naruto couldn't let him go that easily. Not when he was already so close.

"Just relax, Neji. It's ok."

Neji wanted to take his eyes off the jewel and continue about his business, but he couldn't bring himself to do so. Just looking at it gave him a very pleasant feeling. It was getting harder to think. But not thinking felt good. He liked this feeling. A tingling sensation spread through his brain, taking away his thoughts and concerns. He should have been suspicious. He should have realized something was wrong. As long as he stared at that necklace, no such thoughts came to mind. It was comforting. Relaxing. Neji could feeling himself starting to slip away. Before he could try to bring himself out of it, he fixated on the jewel again and completely forgot what was troubling him.

Troubling? Was he feeling troubled? No, couldn't be. He didn't feel troubled. Was he forgetting something? What had he been doing a moment ago? How much time had passed? What was he talking to Naruto about again? What was he saying? These questions lingered only for an instant before being wiped from his mind and faded away.

He felt nothing but peace. His mind had gone completely blank. There was no reason to fight back. Why would he? He felt really good. The beautiful jewel brought him comfort and security. There was nothing to fear and nothing to do but relax and enjoy this wonderful feeling.

"You have all day to do things. Just take a minute to breathe. You deserve a rest. Just relax for a minute and take in a deep breath."

Without meaning to, Neji inhaled deeply and let out a long sigh, feeling relaxed. It felt so good, he decided to do it again. He could feel himself relaxing even more.

"Now what were you doing, Neji?" Naruto asked him softly.

He tried to remember but he couldn't. "I..." He had completely forgotten.

"You were going to relax, weren't you? You're feeling tired, aren't you?"

That's right. He was feeling tired. He did want to relax.

"You're really tired, huh? You look pretty tired, Neji."

Neji nodded his head.

"You want to rest, don't you?"

He nodded again.

"That's good. It's good to relax. It feels great, doesn't it?" Naruto had to get Neji to sleep. That's when he could command him. At least, that's how he thought it worked. "You should close your eyes now and go to sleep."

Neji's eyes started to droop again. Then they opened a little wider. He wasn't that easily put under. He seemed to be resisting. Neji started blinking, trying to stay awake.

"It's ok, Neji." Naruto tried to keep his voice calm. So far, this wasn't working the way he had planned. In his head, this would go so smoothly. Maybe he was doing a sloppy job. He had to keep trying. Maybe if he went about it a little slow, weaning him into the state he wanted. "Just relax and take in a deep breath."

Neji did so without thinking about it. He let out a deep sigh, feeling relaxed.

"Good. And again."

He obeyed.

"And again. Doesn't that feel nice?" Neji started to slump. "Now take a deep breath in and out. In and out. Relax."

Neji started yawning. He was feeling pretty relaxed.

"You look sleepy, Neji."

Neji blinked.

"No, it's ok. It's good. That's a good thing. It's time to go to sleep."

This time, Neji just stared at the jewel. He didn't give in and he didn't resist. His mind had stopped working at this point.

"You're getting sleepy. Very sleepy."

Neji gave a soft moan, trying to fight it off.

"You're eyes are getting heavy. Heavier and heavier."

His eyes drooped again.

"You're getting sleepier and sleepier and sleepier."

Neji yawned again, his eyes drooping even more. He wanted to go to sleep.

"It's ok, Neji. You're going to take a little nap now, ok? Just rest your eyes for a minute."

Neji closed his eyes.

Naruto lowered the necklace, staring at him. Did it really work? Was he really under? He thought Neji would put up more of a fight than this. Then again, it wasn't very easy to get him into this state. "Neji?" he called softly.

"Hm?" Neji opened his eyes slightly. He wasn't under just yet. But he was close. Very close.

Naruto moved the necklace closer to his face, hoping the more Neji stared, the more tired he would become. "You're getting even sleepier, Neji. Very, very sleepy."

Neji stared blankly at the necklace. Naruto couldn't tell if he was resisting or not.

"Take in another deep breath. When you breathe out, you will feel even more relaxed. Take a deep breath in... and out."

Neji started to slump again. This may take a while. Naruto continued to repeat himself over and over again. The more he talked, the sleepier Neji became. He could barely keep his eyes open anymore. He really wanted to sleep now. This was starting to work. Neji was heeding to more of his commands.

Time to try something else. Hopefully this would do the trick.

"Now I'm going to count down from ten. When I reach zero, you will fall into a deep sleep and be completely willing to do anything I say. Understand?"

Neji nodded, not fully understanding what was happening or what Naruto was saying. He was too out of it to follow completely. He just wanted to sleep.

"Ten... nine... eight... you're feeling relaxed... seven... deeply relaxed." Naruto watched as Neji's eyes grew heavier and heavier. "Six... five... four... you're very, very sleepy... three... your eyes are so heavy... two... so sleepy... one... and... zero."

Neji's head fell forward and his eyes closed. He started to fall forward but Naruto held him up by his shoulders. Supporting him with both arms, Naruto let the necklace fall onto his chest. He didn't need it anymore. Neji seemed to be under now.

"That's it... go to sleep..." Naruto peered around to see if anyone was watching them. No one looked toward the alley they were standing in. So far so good, but Naruto had to be quick, just in case someone came their way. "Now, Neji... you will do anything I tell you to do. Understand?"

Neji nodded his head once.

Now to make sure this worked. Commands. He needed commands. "Ok, let's see... Neji, when I snap my fingers and say the word 'sleep' you will go back into a trance, but it will be even deeper than before and even more relaxing. And when I say... 'awake' and snap my fingers again, you will wake up from your trance and remember nothing of being put into a trance. Got it?"

He nodded a second time.

Naruto was curious. What if Neji was faking this? What if he didn't remember anything from this trance and it was all for naught? There were still a number of things he wanted to test out on him but he couldn't do it here. Not now.

Just one more little test.

"Neji, tonight... you will come to my place at 6:00. You will come to my door and knock three times. When I open the door, I will greet you. When I say 'welcome' you will enter my apartment. You will wake up only after I close the door and turn the lock. Understand?"

He nodded.

If Neji did this, it would prove that the commands really did take effect. He didn't ask Neji to do anything embarrassing just in case it really didn't work. This was just another test.

"Ok, Neji." Naruto released his shoulders, snapping his fingers. "Awake."

Neji suddenly opened his eyes. He swayed slightly but quickly recovered. Naruto quickly tucked the necklace back under is shirt.

"You feel ok, Neji?"

He nodded. "Yeah, I'm fine." He had a feeling like he was forgetting something. He couldn't remember what they were just talking about. Then again,when Naruto started rambling, he had a tendency to tune him out and let his mind wander. That's what must have happened. "But no, I don't think that necklace looks girly on you."

"Oh, good." Naruto smiled brightly at him. "So I guess you have things to do, huh?"

Neji looked down at the fallen bag, remembering. "Oh, yeah, that's right. I have to get to my uncle's." Neji picked up the bag and made sure everything was in there. "I'll talk to you later, Naruto. Right now I have to leave."

"That's fine. See you later." Hopefully around six o'clock.

* * *

What will Naruto do next?

Please review! ^-^


	4. Hot and Cold

**Chapter 4: Hot and Cold**

There was only one thing on Naruto's mind and that was his 6:00 visitor. Naruto found it hard to focus on anything for the rest of the afternoon. Since both Sakura and Sai had disappeared, Naruto had to eat by himself. He kept glancing down at his watch every few minutes. He wanted to make sure he was home early so he could wait for Neji's arrival. There was no guarantee that Neji was even going to show. This was just another test.

"Something on your mind?" asked the owner of the ramen shop.

Naruto jumped, realizing that he had been staring at his watch so long the steam had disappeared from his noddles. "No. Why?"

"Because I've never seen you sit there and eat a bowl of ramen that had cooled off before. You usually finish it before then."

Naruto looked down at the cold broth and what few noodles were left. He hadn't realized how distracted he was. He quickly drank the rest of his early evening snack and thanked the owner, rushing to his apartment. He looked back at his watch. It was just after 5:00. He had a little less than an hour to go. Still, he wanted to be there to greet him if he did come.

"Hey, Naruto!"

He stopped and turned. It was Kiba and Akamaru. As always, Kiba seemed to be in a good mood.

"Where you heading?" he asked.

"Uh, just home. I have some stuff to do."

"Aw, really? I was gonna ask if you were up for a little race."

"A race?" Naruto was mildly surprised. "That sounds like something Lee would ask."

"Yeah, I know. He was around earlier but now I can't find him. Guy takes everything way too hard." Kiba bounced on his feet. "I've been bursting with energy for the past hour and I've got no one to spend it on. I was hoping I could get someone to challenge me."

"Race Akamaru," Naruto suggested.

"We did race a little. But it seemed like Akamaru wants to take it easy today. We ran around for a bit and then he gave up. Just wants to laze around."

"Maybe because you tire him out riding on him all the time," came a voice.

Naruto and Kiba turned and saw Shino standing right beside them. As quiet as ever, neither one of them noticed him until he was on top of them.

"How long have you been there?!" Naruto almost screamed.

"A while. Not very observant, are you?" He turned to Kiba. "You ride on Akamaru all the time. He's bound to be tired. That explains why you're bursting with energy and he wants to take some time to rest."

"Nah, that ain't it." Kiba brushed it off like it was nothing. He must have been used to Shino's matter-of-fact comments. "It's just a lazy dog day. We all have those. I'm bound to get one maybe tomorrow since I'm full of energy now."

"Choose to ignore me if you wish, but it makes sense."

Naruto sighed. "Man, Shino... Sometimes I wish you weren't so... so..."

"So what?"

"Creepy."

Though neither one could see it, they knew Shino's eyes had narrowed at the comment. He turned his whole body to face Naruto. "And just what is that supposed to mean?"

"I mean, you pop up out of nowhere and just stand there without saying anything and when you do it's always weird."

"Weird?"

"Yeah! You're like, 'this is how it is, so there' and crap. Don't you ever have any fun?"

"Yes."

"Yeah," laughed Kiba. "By ruining everyone else's."

"Yeah, what he said!" added Naruto. "We were just talking and then you show up and have to tell us what we're doing wrong."

"I was simply stating a fact. It only makes sense that due to Kiba constantly riding on Akamaru's back, he would get tired and Kiba would be full of energy having not spent any. That's all I was saying. Nothing I pointed out ruined anyone's fun."

"There was no fun to be had," Kiba said, doing his best impression of his teammate. He even put a gloomy look on his face and hid his mouth and chin behind his sleeve to make up for his lack of a high collar. His impression got Naruto laughing but Shino wasn't amused.

Naruto looked at his watch. 5:17. "Ah! Guys, I gotta go."

"Alright," waved Kiba. "Let me know if you change your mind. I've got time to kill before dinner."

"If Naruto has something to do now and you have to be home in time for dinner, then you really don't have time to kill. Either he'll be busy while you're free or you'll be eating when he's finished or you'll both be occupied at the same time."

"There's the vacuum that sucked up all the fun again."

"Arf! Arf!"

"Yeah, you tell him, Akamaru!"

Naruto ran down the street to his apartment. On his way, he bumped into something green. Lee flipped himself into an upright position, having been walking on his hands, greeting Naruto. "Hello, Naruto! Where are you going?"

"Home. I had something I needed to do." Naruto tried to find a way around Lee, but he kept stepping into his path.

"Do you have any time to spar with me?"

"Not right now. Maybe later."

Someone else stepped into his path at that very moment. It was Sai. "Good, Naruto. Just the person I needed to find."

"Not now, Sai. I'm trying to get home."

Sai blocked his path. "I was asked to give you something."

Naruto pushed him out of the way. It was already 5:25. Time was flying fast. "Now right now, Sai. Give it to me later, ok?"

"Ok, if that's what you-"

He didn't wait around to hear him finish. Naruto sprinted the rest of the way home and slammed the door shut. He checked his watch again. 5:27. Now he just had to wait for 6:00 to roll around.

For the next ten minutes, Naruto found himself pacing his apartment, looking up at the clock every few minutes. He still had a while to wait, but he couldn't help himself. Whether it was excitement or nervousness, he didn't know. All he knew was that someone was going to be coming through that door if everything worked out the way he had planned.

At ten-to-six, Naruto pulled up a chair and sat in front of the door, waiting on the edge of his seat. He tried to be patient. He looked at the clock. 5:58. Any minute now. He thought he heard someone coming but it turned out to be a false alarm. He looked back at the clock. 5:59. Almost time. He faced the door, gripping his pant legs tightly. This had to work. He hoped it would. The clock gave a loud tick and he looked up. 6:00 on the dot. He faced the door again, holding his breath.

Nothing happened.

Naruto let out the breath he had been holding feeling very disappointed. It must not have worked. This whole thing was a failure.

Knock, knock, knock. Three precise knocks.

Naruto sucked in a breath. Could it be? Was this for real? He pulled the chair aside and reached for the knob. Slowly, as if expecting to see a monster on the other side, he opened the door.

There on the other side stood Neji.

"It did work," Naruto gasped.

Neji stood perfectly still, staring straight ahead with blank eyes.

Naruto stared into his eyes. That absent expression on Neji's face was a bit unnerving. He looked like a zombie. Naruto waved a hand in front of his face. He didn't blink. He just kept staring with those empty eyes. Naruto wondered if Neji could see anything. His eyes were so unfocused.

Then he remembered. "Oh. Ahem... Welcome."

Neji stepped inside, shuffling along like a puppet on strings. Naruto could tell that his movements were not my choice. Neji moved much easier than this. He flowed more. It was natural. This was as if someone were controlling his movements. It was almost like watching a marionette. That was just how he moved. There was no other way to describe it.

Neji stood still, staring off into space. Naruto wondered why he wasn't doing anything, then he remembered the details of the command. He would remain like this until...

Naruto closed the door. And locked it.

As soon as Neji heard the lock click, he blinked, his head lifting and looking around his new surroundings.

Naruto approached him slowly. He wasn't sure how Neji was going to react now that he had finished carrying out his command. "Neji?"

He turned, eyes full of light again. He had come back to his senses. He looked from Naruto to the rest of the apartment, looking extremely confused. "I, uh... I can't remember how I got here..." he whispered to himself.

"What's that?"

"I don't know how I got here," he said a little louder. He had no recollection of his journey. One minute he was outside and now he was here. What happened between that? He couldn't remember.

Naruto tried to play it off as something very minor. "Ah, it's no big deal. You must have been in a daze or something. Deep in thought, right?"

Though it seemed like no big deal to Naruto, it was very troubling for Neji. He couldn't remember a thing and that bothered him. It was very troubling. Why couldn't he remember? There must have been a problem. He was starting to get worried. Walking in a daze he could understand. There were times when he was so deep in thought he would walk from one place to another and not remember the buildings he passed along the way. However, this was very different. He was inside Naruto's home. He never remembered crossing the threshold. Surely he would have knocked to be let inside. He was standing right here in front of Naruto with no memory on how he got there. He must have engaged Naruto at some point, but he couldn't remember. A chunk of his memory was completely gone.

Neji started to move towards the door again. Naruto stepped in front of him, blocking his path. "Wait. Where are you going, Neji?"

"To collect my thoughts." He tried to move around Naruto but he wouldn't let him.

"Come on, you just got here. You must have come here for a reason so let's chat."

"Naruto, I can't remember how I got here. Something's wrong." Neji didn't looked panicked but he definitely looked worried. He kept trying to push Naruto out of his way.

"You don't have to go so soon. If you're that worried about it, let's retrace your steps." Naruto shoved Neji back, trying to keep him in the apartment for a few more minutes. He still had things to test.

Neji shoved back. "I'd much rather figure it out on my own, alright? Now move."

"Please stay a minute?"

"I told you no. Why do you want to keep me here so badly?" Neji was starting to suspect that Naruto may have had something to do with his memory loss.

Sensing what Neji was thinking, Naruto decided to see if the other command worked. He had to keep him here until he was finished testing things out on his little guinea pig. "Wait a second, Neji. I think I have an idea on what's going on."

Neji stopped pushing and took a step back. "Yeah? What's your idea?"

Naruto snapped his fingers. "Sleep."

Instantly, Neji's face relaxed and closed his eyes. He fell forward into Naruto, treating his shoulder like a pillow. To keep his balance and Neji from falling, Naruto had to wrap his arms around Neji's back and support him. Neji was heavier than he looked, especially limp. Naruto tried to walk him over to the couch but it was slow going and Neji kept slipping. Finally, Naruto proceeded to drag Neji the length of the room and threw him onto the couch. He lay Neji face-up on the couch, tossing scrolls and dirty clothes out of the way. Neji never so much as stirred.

Now it was time to test out a few other things he was curious about. On one TV show he watched, a man explained that hypnosis wasn't mind-control but simply convincing someone that something was true. The person under hypnosis was very impressionable and in a vulnerable state where they were easily convinced. They were suggestible. This was how the person was so willing to accept the commands given to them and act like a dog. The person under hypnosis was convinced that they were a dog. When the hypnotist told them they were a dog, they really believed it.

Keeping this in mind, Naruto wanted to see if he could fool someone into thinking something or even feeling something; anything. Maybe instead of ordering Sakura into going out with him, he could convince her that she really had feelings for him and therefore would be willing to go out with him of her own freewill.

But first, he would have to test this out on Neji and see if it worked. If it was a success, then he would try it out on Sakura.

"Neji, I want you to concentrate on my voice. I want you to relax. Relax even further. Deeper. You feel really comfortable. You're extremely relaxed." He watched Neji sink into the couch sighing contentedly. Now for the test. "Your body feels really warm. It's getting warmer and warmer. It's a really hot summer day and the temperature is going up fast. It's getting hotter and hotter."

Neji started to frown, feeling uncomfortable.

"It's getting really hot now. The temperature is climbing. It must be over 90 degrees. The sun is so bright and burning hot."

Neji gave a moan of discomfort. He didn't like how hot it was becoming. He turned his head from one side to the other, trying to find a way to escape the heat.

It was working. Neji was convinced it was getting hotter though the temperature in the room had not changed. "It's so hot. It's like an oven in here. The temperature has to be over 100. It's getting hotter and hotter an hotter."

Neji moaned, turning his head this way and that, trying to find some relief from this unbearable heat. His hand wandered up to his shirt and started to undo the button at the top. He started tugging at his shirt trying to get it off. Maybe if he shed a few layers he would be able to cool off.

Naruto noticed what Neji was trying to do and almost screamed out loud. The last thing he wanted was a Hyuga strip tease. Time to pull this back in the opposite direction. "The temperature's stop climbing. It's starting to go down now. It's getting lower and lower. It's dropping, Neji. It's getting cooler. It's 80 degrees now. 75...65..."

Neji stopped tugging at his shirt and his face started to relax again, thankful he was no longer roasting alive in his own skin.

"It's getting colder and colder. It's so cold."

Neji frowned.

"It's freezing. It's so cold it's snowing. There's snow everywhere. And ice. It's getting really cold now. It's so cold."

Neji started to ball up on the couch. He brought his hands up to his chest and rolled onto his side, shivering.

"It's so cold. It's freezing cold."

Neji shivered, curled up tight, trying to keep warm. He truly believed he was freezing.

Naruto smiled. He was able to convince Neji so easily. This was great! "It's getting warmer now. It's warming up. The temperature's rising. It's getting warmer and warmer. This is a good temperature now. It's a comfortable temperature. You're body's nice and warm, like it's wrapped up in a soft blanket. You're feeling very comfortable. Everything is just right. It's prefect. Absolutely perfect."

Neji stretched out on the couch again, relaxing. At Naruto's comforting words, he sighed, settling into a comfortable position.

"You're feeling very relaxed. Deeply relaxed. You're falling deeper and deeper asleep. Just relax and sleep. You need your rest. You feel so relaxed and happy. You're in a very peaceful, comfortable state."

Certain that Neji was right where he wanted him, Naruto decided to have a little fun. Neji was always quick to criticize him. He took things way too seriously in Naruto's opinion. No matter what, Neji always seemed to find fault with whatever Naruto did. True, they were friends, but that didn't mean Neji had to agree with everything he did. Neji had called him out in the past about being too hyper and loud and childish. It was time for a change. It was time for Neji to start being ok with whatever Naruto did. No more criticism.

Just as Naruto was about to give Neji a new command, there was a knock on the door. He flinched. Who could that be now of all times? He looked back at Neji, hoping the knocking hadn't disturbed him. Neji was still in a deep trance, not moving an inch.

The knocking came again. "Naruto, are you home?" came Sai's voice.

"Him of all people? Why now?" Naruto looked back at Neji. This wasn't good. If Sai saw Neji asleep on his couch, he would start asking a bunch of questions Naruto simply couldn't answer. This was a problem. He had to hide Neji.

"Naruto?"

"Yeah, hang on!" Naruto called, trying not to wake Neji. But that didn't seem to be an issue. Neji was pretty out of it. Grabbing a blanket from the back of the couch, Naruto draped it over Neji's body. After making sure he was completely covered, Naruto ran to the door. He pulled it open half-way. "Yeah?"

Sai handed Naruto something. "You said I could come over later to give this to you."

"That's why you're here?" Naruto moaned. "When I said later, I didn't mean..."

"It's from Sakura. She asked me to give it to you."

Naruto perked up. "Oh, from Sakura, huh? What is it? A gift?" Naruto looked down at what Sai had forced into his hand. It wasn't the gift he was hoping for.

"It's the bento box you put in her bag during the mission. You asked her to hang on to it until we got back because you didn't have any room in your bag."

"Oh, yeah... I forgot about that... And it wasn't that I didn't have any room in my bag, it's because there was a hole in it."

"Oh. My mistake, then."

Just then, on the far end of the room, Neji gave a particularly loud snore from under the blanket.

Sai blinked and tried to look in the apartment. "What was that?"

"Nothing!" Naruto blocked his view. "Just my, uh... stomach. I was just about to eat dinner."

"Oh." Sai kept trying to look inside, not thoroughly convinced. "It sounded almost like-"

"Don't you have places to be?" Naruto shoved him out the door.

Sai wasn't leaving that easily. He held onto the door-frame and looked down. He saw Naruto's shoes by the door by their lonesome. He must have been by himself, but Sai was sure he heard someone else. It wasn't a voice, but a sound. Naruto said the noise was his stomach but Sai could have sworn the noise had come from inside the apartment. But if Naruto said it was his stomach, it must have been his stomach.

"Are you sure you're alone?"

"Yeah, yeah. I'm alone. Once you leave." Naruto shoved him out the door. "Now leave me alone so I can eat dinner, ok?"

"Because it was your stomach?"

"What? Yeah, yeah, it was my stomach. Now, bye!" Naruto slammed the door in his face, locking it. "Whew! That was close." Naruto hurried back to the couch and threw the blanket off Neji. Right where he left him.

Neji gave another snore, drooling onto the couch cushions.

Time to put the next part of his plan into action. "Ok, Neji. Listen closely..." Naruto brought his face closer to where Neji lay, keeping his voice as soothing as possible. "When you wake up from this trance, three things will happen. First, whenever you look into my eyes, you will instantly calm down and all your stress will leave you. Second, whenever I touch you, you will agree with anything I say. You will agree with me, whatever it may be. And third, whenever I'm near you and you see me, you will feel as if your whole body is being tickled. It'll be a warm, happy, pleasant feeling. Got all that? Do you understand?"

Neji nodded into the couch.

Hopefully, all this would make Neji more pleasant to be around. If he felt happy whenever Naruto was near, he wouldn't be so quick to judge or criticize. He would be in a better mood. Having Neji agree to anything he said would be even better. From now on, Naruto could do no wrong. Even if Neji didn't like it, he would have to agree with him no matter what. If Naruto told him to do something, he would have to do it. If Naruto had one opinion and Neji had another, thanks to this, Neji would now share his opinion. The next time they took a vote, it would be for Naruto to get his way. Plus, if Neji ever picked a fight with him or if Naruto said something to anger Neji, he wouldn't be able to bring himself to hurt Naruto. Not only would being around him put him in a good mood, but if he looked into his eyes, Neji would instantly calm down. This seemed like a fool-proof plan. He never ordered Neji to be his slave so no one should suspect anything was amiss. It was perfect.

Now to get Neji out of here. If he woke him up now, Neji would still question now he got there in the first place and wonder why he couldn't remember anything. He would have more memory blanks.

"Ok, Neji. Now sit up."

Slowly, Neji pulled himself into a sitting position. His head hung limply as his body slouched.

"Ok, now stand up."

Neji stood.

"Good. Now I want you to go home. You will go to your house and wake up once you're inside. You will remember nothing of coming to my place today. You will feel really tired and want to go to bed. Got it? Now go home."

Neji started walking. His movements were slow and unsteady much like a sleepwalker's. However, he was still in a trance and had his eyes closed. Naruto hoped that wouldn't be an issue. Then Neji walked right into the wall.

"Of course, you'll have to open your eyes in order to get there."

Neji opened his eyes. Changing direction, Neji started toward the door again. Naruto followed him every step of the way, making sure he was alright. Aside from his slumped posture and half-lidded eyes, Neji looked relatively normal. He could pass for a very tired Hyuga and not draw too much attention to himself. Neji unlocked the door, turned the knob and left the apartment. Naruto stuck his head out into the hall to watch him. Neji seemed to be able to handle this on his own.

Once Neji was out of sight, Naruto closed the door and ran to the balcony. He saw Neji walking toward his house, shuffling slowly. He seemed to be doing just fine so Naruto didn't worry. He went back inside and started to boil water for his ramen. Tomorrow he would find out how Neji took the new commands he had given him. Naruto believed tomorrow was going to be a good day.

* * *

Please review! ^-^


	5. It Worked!

**Chapter 5: It Worked?!**

The next morning, Naruto got up early which was unusual for him. He was still excited about what happened then night before. He couldn't wait to find Neji and see if the commands took. Despite being excited, his morning started out slowly, taking his time in getting dressed and eating. Around 10:00 he decided to leave his apartment and see if he could find Neji.

So far, he had no luck in finding him. Maybe he wasn't around. Maybe he was still home or off training somewhere. Naruto started searching. Once he saw that all the commands had taken, then it was time to try it out on Sakura and get that long awaited date he had been dying for.

"Why do you look so determined?" asked a voice.

Naruto nearly jumped out of his skin. He spun around to yell. "God, Shino! Will you stop that?!"

"What?"

"Sneaking up on people like that! It's creepy!"

"I wasn't sneaking. You just weren't alert enough to notice me."

Another wise answer from the ever serious Shino. If Naruto had his way, Shino would never sneak up on him again and he wouldn't answer everything with a snide remark. He hated how Shino had an answer for everything and came across as such a know-it-all. No matter what he did, it always seemed wrong in Shino's hidden eyes. If only there was a way to change Shino for the better so he wouldn't come across as 'creepy'.

"So why the serious look, Naruto?" he asked.

"I was looking for Neji. Have you seen him?"

"Last I knew, he had gone off somewhere with his team. We didn't say much. But I'm sure he's off to train with them. Judging from Lee's reaction, at least..."

"So training, right? Where?"

"I told you, I don't know. We didn't say much. Just a passing 'hello'. You need to learn how to listen."

"I am listening! I just want you to tell me where he went. Was it near the training grounds? Was it near the park? At least point east or west, man!"

Shino sighed, annoyed. "Clearly you don't listen well. I have no idea which way he went. The way they train, they're all over the place. Even if I knew, it may not be very helpful to you seeing as how it happened this morning."

"Shino, it's ten in the morning. It's still morning," Naruto pointed out.

"I meant as in dawn."

"Dawn..?" Two seconds later, Naruto almost yelled, "They went off to train at dawn?! Seriously?! That early?!"

Shino didn't move away but his body language told Naruto that he wasn't comfortable with his shouting. "They're part of Team Gai. Most of the things they do are considered extreme. Rather than ask me questions, why not go looking for them? Listen for counting. That's most likely Lee and where you find him his team can't be too far behind."

"Whatever, thanks." Naruto went back to searching. He was glad to be rid of Shino. It wasn't that he didn't like him. It was just that Shino struck him as weird. They were friends and all, but he hated Shino's constant criticisms. One day, just one day without hearing Shino find fault with something would be heaven. Maybe if he found a genie lamp it would come true.

A few minutes later, he heard another voice. "Please, Neji? Just one quick one, I promise." Through an alley Naruto spotted Lee, Tenten and Neji standing together talking. Lee seemed to be trying to get Neji to do something, but he was refusing.

Now that Neji was in his sights, Naruto hurried over to see if Neji remembered his commands.

"I told you no, Lee. Accept that," Neji was telling him.

"Please? I know I have improved a lot. My skills have increased! I want to show you how much stronger I am. Spar with me. Just for a few minutes."

"I said no. Don't make me say it again."

"Come on, Neji. Humor him," said Tenten. "If you do it, he'll stop pestering you."

"I'm not giving in. He has to accept my answer. I told him no and I meant it."

"He asks all the time. We should all be used to it," she went on.

Neji scoffed. "I don't care. We've been training since dawn. I would like to eat something before I fall over. I don't think I'm asking too much."

Lee wagged his finger. "Ah... But through proper training, one can go days without food."

"Lee, I'm not fighting you when my stomach is eating itself. Later."

"Just for one minute. Right now. Please?"

"No, Lee!"

Naruto chose to show up at just the right moment. Just as Neji's face was starting to change color, his shoulders shaking with rage, Naruto stepped into view. "Hello, guys! What's going on?"

Naruto was greeted by the team. However, his eyes were only on one person. The second Neji caught sight of Naruto, his rage melted away. His shoulders slumped slightly and his face returned to a normal color. There was something else happening that Naruto could not explain. Neji's lips were twitching. It looked almost like he was fighting back a giggle fit.

 _The command was 'every time you see me you'll feel as if you're being tickled'_ , Naruto thought to himself. _Looks like it's working_.

"Good morning, Naruto!" greeted Lee excitedly.

"Hey, Lee." Naruto glanced from him to Neji. "So what were you guys talking about? You wanted to fight him or something?"

"Yes. I was asking Neji to a friendly spar but he refuses. It is very disappointing."

"That's because I haven't eaten yet and I was forced to get up early to train," Neji said bitterly. He was not in a very good mood.

Naruto moved closer to Neji. "So you're mad at him because he keeps bugging you?"

Neji glanced at Naruto, his face twitching oddly. Then Neji turned away trying to hide a small smile on his face. Neji seemed to find it impossible to stay in a sour mood when Naruto was nearby. This pleasant feeling kept swelling up inside of him. It made him feel almost happy. It was a nice feeling, but Neji wondered why it was happening to him.

"Just one quick spar, Neji," repeated Lee. "Please? I have so much energy I simply must use it!"

Neji came back to his senses a moment later. "Then use that energy to keep your mouth shut because I'm not doing it."

Time for another test. Naruto put a hand on Neji's shoulder in a kind gesture between friends. In reality, it was done to hide the trigger. All he had to do was touch Neji and he would agree to anything he said. "Come on, Neji. Lee seems to really want to spar with you. Why not let him? Just for a minute? Then you can do what you want."

The hand on his shoulder was comforting. And Naruto's voice put him at ease. So did his blue eyes.

A strange feeling came over Neji.

"Just spar with Lee for a minute, Neji. Ok?"

Neji blinked, an odd look on his face. And then... "Yeah. Alright, I'll do it. I'll spar with Lee. Just for a minute."

It worked! It really worked! Neji agreed! This was wonderful news. The hypnosis was a complete success.

Best of all, no one suspected a thing. To everyone around watching, it simply appeared that Neji caved in. Neji himself suspected nothing. As far as he was concerned, he was just won over by Naruto's persuasive words. He didn't feel like anyone was controlling him and no one around saw anything to tell them he was. This was perfect.

Neji and Lee found a clear space near the park to spar and faced each other. "Let's make this quick. No more than two minutes, alright?" said Neji.

"Yes, yes, of course. Thank you for agreeing to this." Lee was already in his stance.

Sighing, Neji took his position, fully prepared to end this match quickly. He tried to focus but something was amiss. He looked to the side, spotting Tenten and Naruto standing nearby, watching them. The second he caught sight of Naruto his mind went blank. He felt strange, as if he was being tickled by soft paint brushes all over his body. It felt wonderful but he wondered why he was feeling this way. Suddenly, he felt Lee's foot in his face. He hadn't be concentrating on the match, completely forgetting that Lee was there and that they were sparing.

"Neji, are you alright?" Tenten asked from the sidelines. Lee had never caught Neji off guard before and never landed a direct hit like that.

"Yeah..." Neji clasped a hand to his stinging face. "Just wasn't paying attention."

Lee never sensed that Neji was distracted. He thought he had improved so much he was finally able to land a hit on his rival. He was already celebrating.

Naruto decided to leave them alone so Neji could focus better on the match. He had other things to do now that he knew that the hypnosis worked. It was time to use it on his real target. Now he just had to find Sakura.

Naruto hurried back into town and started searching in all the usual places he would find her. After running around for fifteen minutes, he finally spotted her walking down the street with something in her arms. He ran up to her, calling her name. She turned around. "Sakura! I'm glad I caught you."

"What is it?" She was carrying a bag from one of the nearby markets. She must have been heading home when he stopped her. As long as he wasn't interrupting her work or stopping her from completing errands on time, she shouldn't have a reason not to give him a few minutes of her time.

Naruto was so excited. Time for that long awaited date. He started to unzip the front of his jacket to get the necklace out. "Take a look at this, Sakura."

As soon as she saw him unzipping his jacket, she jumped to the wrong conclusion. "Naruto, you disgusting perv!" Holding the shopping bag in her left hand, she delivered a hard punch to his face with the right and sent him flying. Naruto slammed into a fence shoulder first. Sakura snarled. "I'm not interested in some perverted strip-tease, you idiot!"

"Wha..? What?! No, no! You have it wrong! I wasn't trying to-"

Sakura turned her back on him and marched off.

"Wait, wait! Sakura! I was just..." Naruto moaned. That was a complete disaster. Even if he did try to explain himself, there was no way she would allow him anywhere near her now. Once again she had jumped to the wrong conclusion. There was no way he could use the necklace's power on her now. This was a complete failure. "Now what am I supposed to do?"

He needed a new strategy. If he couldn't get to Sakura directly, then he would have to get to her through someone else. How was he going to do that? Within a few minutes, he had an idea. He would use someone else, someone under hypnosis. He would make them act really rude to Sakura and then he would rush to her aid. She would be so taken with his heroic act that she would ask him out on a date out of gratitude. It was fool proof. Now he just needed someone to take the heat for him.

He couldn't use Neji. She would know something was up. If Neji acted rude towards her, she would know it was some sort of trick. Neji would never be a jerk to her or to anyone else for that matter. He had matured a lot in the past few years. For him to behave the way Naruto wanted for this plan to work, he would be completely out of character. It had to be someone else. Someone who would be rude, even if they didn't realize it. Someone who was already a bit strange so it wouldn't be too far out of their character to act this way. Luckily, Naruto knew just the person for the job.

"I think I'll pay a visit to Sai," Naruto said with a smirk.

* * *

Please review! ^-^


	6. Sai

**Chapter 6: Sai**

Sai was easy to find. On his days off, Sai could usually be found in the park, sketching. That was exactly how Naruto found him. He was sitting in the grass all by himself drawing the trees and the animals that wandered by. Balancing the sketchbook in his lap, Sai rubbed the stick of charcoal on the white paper, blending it all together into a work of art. He was so engrossed in his work that he hadn't noticed Naruto standing nearby. If he had, he never brought it to Naruto's attention.

Naruto stepped forward. "Hey, Sai. Whatcha doin'?"

He looked over his shoulder, his hand pausing for a moment. "Just drawing."

"I see." Naruto squatted down beside him, looking at the paper.

"Did you need something?" Sai asked. Normally Naruto didn't take an interest in anything he was drawing. His demeanor told Sai that Naruto wanted something.

"I just wanted to hang out with you for a minute." Sai was a pretty weird guy as far as Naruto was concerned so he had no idea how well hypnosis would work on him. He was hoping that Sai was too dense to realize he was being hypnotized. "Actually, I was hoping you could look at something real quick for me."

Sai set down his sketchbook and his charcoal, rubbing his hand off in the grass. "Sure. What is it?"

Naruto unzipped part of his jacket and pulled out the necklace. Holding it by its chain, he held it out for Sai to see. "What do you think?"

Sai looked at the jewel. "It's a necklace."

"Yup. What do you think?"

"What do I think? I think it's a necklace."

Naruto rolled his eyes. Sai was getting better with emotions and understanding people to an extent, but Naruto didn't think opinions were an issue with him, too. "No, I mean look at it. Really look at it."

"Ok." Sai focused his attention on the jewel.

"Don't you think it's pretty?"

"Um... I suppose."

"What about the shape? Do you like that at least?"

"I don't really have a preference. It's a nice necklace."

Naruto had to keep Sai's attention focused on the jewel. That was the only way the hypnosis would work. "Ok, fine. But do you like it? Do you think it's pretty? Don't you like the color?"

"Color? It's a clear jewel. The only color it takes on is whatever happens to be-"

"Ok, ok. What about right now? What color does it look like now?"

He shrugged. "Kind of green because of the grass... A little orange. Some blue. Um..." Sai tried to find all the colors but the jewel kept moving. Naruto was twirling it in his hand, making it spin. "It's hard to tell when you keep moving it like that."

"Doesn't it get more colors when it spins?"

"I don't know. I could check."

"You do that. Look at the jewel and see if anything changes."

Sai continued to look at the spinning jewel. He looked at it closely.

Naruto watched and waited. He hoped this would work. He was taking a real chance with Sai. He had no idea how he would be affected, if at all. Slowly, Sai's eyes seemed to grow tired and heavy. He rubbed his eyes with the back of his hand. Then he went back to looking at the jewel. "I don't think it's getting any more colors... or whatever it was you wanted to know."

Before Sai would look away, Naruto asked him something else. "Can you count how many times it rotates?"

"I could try..." Sai looked at the necklace closely, following the spins. It spun one way and then the other. Sai followed its every movement.

"How many rotations now, Sai?"

"24."

Naruto waited before asking him again. "And now?"

"Uh, 36..."

"What about now?"

"Um... 75... I think."

It was like counting sheep. Sai seemed to be getting more tired. "Now, Sai?"

"Huh?"

"What number are you at?"

"... Number?"

"You were counting how many times it spun."

"Oh... I lost track..." Sai watched the jewel, his eyes drooping slightly. "My eyes are feeling a bit heavy..."

Naruto smiled. "You look pretty sleepy, Sai."

"Sleepy?" Sai started yawning. "I guess I do feel a little..."

"You're getting sleepier and sleepier... Just relax... You're getting very sleepy..."

Sai's head was starting to bob slightly. He felt incredibly sleepy. He just wanted to lie down.

"Your body is getting warmer, like a soft blanket is wrapped around you."

Sai's body did feel a bit warm. It was a pleasant warmth. He fought to remain conscious but his body was too relaxed. This feeling of warm comfort was absolutely wonderful. Sai yawned again, his eyes feeling even heavier.

"It's ok. It's ok," Naruto said to him in a soothing voice. "I know how much you want to sleep. You deserve a rest. Just relax. Relax..."

Sai's head bobbed again. He couldn't fight off sleep for much longer. He wanted to take a nap. He could feel his body getting heavier and his strength leaving him. He couldn't hold himself up anymore. He had to lie down. Sai lowered himself down on his elbow and then onto his side, laying in the grass. He sighed into his arm, closing his eyes.

Naruto lowered the necklace, looking down at Sai. That was easier than he thought. Just as he was about to start giving Sai his commands, Sai shifted slightly, mumbling something. He wasn't in a full trance yet. He was relaxed, but not enough. Naruto couldn't start yet. "Easy, Sai... It's ok... just relax..."

Sai's eyelids fluttered slightly. To keep Sai in one place, Naruto started to rub his shoulder, getting him to relax further. Sai lay still at Naruto's touch. No one had ever rubbed him before. He liked the feeling. It was soothing.

"Take a deep breath in and out... slowly... that's it... and again..." Naruto had Sai repeat this several times before moving on. "I'm going to start counting backwards from ten. When I reach zero, you will be in a trance. While in this trance, you will do anything I say. Ten... nine... eight... seven... six..."

Sai let out another yawn and then lay still in the grass. Naruto stopped rubbing his arm but kept his hand on Sai, keeping his warmth nearby.

"Five... four... That's it... Three... two... one... zero."

At zero, Sai's body became completely limp. Naruto stared at him for a while, wondering if he was really under. He gave Sai's face a gentle poke. He didn't move. He seemed to be in a pretty deep trance.

"Sai, can you hear me?"

He nodded slowly.

"Good. I need you to do something for me. First, do you know who I am?"

"... Naruto..." he mumbled sleepily.

"Good job. That's very good. Now when you wake up from your trance, you will find Sakura, our teammate. When you find her..." Naruto explained exactly what he wanted Sai to do. Sai absorbed every word. "And you will only snap out of it when I punch you. Got all that? Now when I clap my hands, you'll wake up." Naruto sat back and clapped.

Sai opened his eyes. He saw grass and trees. Then he saw Naruto looking down at him. He sat up slowly, rubbing his eyes. "What happened? Did I fall asleep or... something..?" Sai was still feeling groggy from the trance.

Naruto sat with him, hoping Sai would carry out his orders. "Are you feeling ok? You said you were feeling a bit sleepy."

"I did..?" He stifled a yawn. "It's so tranquil here, I guess I just..." He blinked. "I just... I... want to find Sakura." Without another word, Sai stood up, leaving his things behind and started into town. Naruto stood up and followed him.

Once Naruto rescued Sakura from Sai, she would be begging him to be her boyfriend. Naruto couldn't wait.

* * *

What will he have Sai do?

Please review! ^-^


	7. Hands Off

**Chapter 7: Hands Off**

Sakura had just finished her errands for that afternoon and was looking for something to pass the time. Perhaps Ino could get some time off and hang out with her for a bit. She didn't want to spend her afternoon alone. She wanted to spend some time in female company. Maybe they could have a girl's day. That sounded like fun.

Just then, Sai came out of nowhere and stood beside her. "Hello, Sakura."

"Uh, hey. What's up?"

Sai looked at her chest. "Not those. They're as tiny as ever."

Sakura's eye twitched. "What was that?" she growled.

"No wonder you can't get a guy. Your chest is so small. They won't attract men at all. If anything, they'll mistake you for a boy. So flat-chested and all."

The only reason Sai hadn't been punched yet was because Sakura was in so much shock. Sai had always been on the rude side and spoke his mind, but he had never been this direct before. It was almost as if he wanted to be punched.

Around the corner, Naruto was watching his plan unfold before his eyes. This was wonderful. Once Sai offended Sakura, he would move to the next phase of the plan. Then Naruto would swoop in and come to her rescue. The plan was fool-proof.

Sai reached forward and grabbed her chest with both hands. "Yup. Nothing much here. Seriously, with a chest like this and the short hair, if it weren't for the skirt, everyone would mistake you for a boy. Hell, I know guys who are more feminine than you."

Naruto came out of his hiding place and came rushing to her aid. "Hey, Sai! Don't you dare talk to Sakura that way! She's a lovely woman who deserves respect!"

"Shut up, Naruto!" Sakura screamed. She grabbed Sai's wrists and swung him around, spinning in a full circle. "Sai, you are so dead! Cha!" She released Sai, letting him soar into Naruto's chest and the two went flying. "You ever come near me again and you're dead! You hear me?! Dead!"

The two boys cleared several buildings before slamming into the ground. Naruto took the brunt of the blow. Sai landed on top of him with little more than a sprained wrist and a bloody nose. Naruto punched him to get him off. No longer spellbound, Sai sat in the middle of the street looking from left to right.

"How did I get here?" he asked. "What happened?"

"Sakura happened." Naruto sat up, trying to pop his shoulder back into place. "Damn, I never saw that coming. Then again, Sakura was never the kind to be the damsel in distress. She doesn't need a guy coming to her rescue. She just punches them. Aw, crap. What was I thinking? It was a stupid plan."

"What was a stupid plan?" Sai asked.

"Never mind."

Sai brushed himself off, got his bearings and returned to the park for his things. In the meantime, Naruto tried to come up with another plan.

"Let's see... That plan didn't work. Using the necklace on her directly didn't work. Hm... What else can I do?" Then realization kicked in. "Aw, and now after all this, there's no way she'll let me anywhere near her. At least, not for a while. She's going to hang low and if anyone comes her way, she'll punch 'em to death. I guess this means I can't do anything for a while."

However, this didn't mean that he couldn't have some fun with other people. Maybe he couldn't use it on Sakura or get near her for a while, but maybe he could entertain himself with the other people in the village. That should be fun.

Naruto touched the necklace hidden under his jacket with his fingers. "With this thing, I can make people do whatever I want. Oh, yeah. This is going to be fun."

* * *

Kind of a short chapter, I know. More fun to come, though.

Please review! ^-^


	8. Shino

**Chapter 8: Shino**

For once, Naruto could declare what he wanted and make sure people carried out his wishes. It was all thanks to this necklace. Naruto couldn't wait to do more. He had to pick his next victim. It had occurred to him that he had never given Sai a trigger so if he wanted to manipulate him again, he would have to start all over. Neji was still under his control so he could have some more fun with him for a while. Still, Naruto wanted fresh victims.

He walked around the village, looking for new candidates. There was no way Sakura would let him anywhere near her so his only option was to find someone else to have some fun with. He would keep his distance from her for a while. He would get that date eventually. Naruto stepped off the road and behind a building. He couldn't use the necklace on someone in the middle of the street. Hypnosis wasn't for the public. He wasn't that good with it. Perhaps he could lure someone behind this building and do it then.

"What are you doing skulking around like this?"

"Ahh!" Naruto spun around and found Shino standing behind him in the shadow of a tree. "Don't do that! How many times do I have to tell you?"

"A true ninja would have sensed me there." Shino stepped closer, every inch of his body hidden by clothing. Only a tiny portion of his face was visible. This always made Naruto feel creeped out by his friend. Shino had quite the poker-face, not that anyone could ever see it.

Naruto was about to yell back when he realized that Shino would make a good test subject. He started to smile. "Hey, Shino... As long as you're here, I want to show you something."

"Alright. What?"

Naruto pulled out the necklace. "Check this out. What do you think?"

Shino's head shifted slightly, looking at the necklace. Since Naruto couldn't see his eyes, he had to assume that was what Shino was looking at. "It's a necklace."

"Yup."

"How nice." Shino sounded less than impressed.

"Don't you think it's pretty?" Naruto moved the necklace closer and started swinging it.

"It's hard to tell with you moving it like that. Since when do you value my opinion?"

This didn't seem to be working. Was Shino immune? Maybe he wasn't looking at it long enough.

"Did you have a hard day, Shino? Are you feeling tired?"

"Just what are you up to?" Shino asked. His head had moved again, no longer looking at the necklace.

"Nothing. I'm not doing anything."

Shino didn't seem convinced.

"I just wanted you to look at the necklace. That's all."

"Why do you care so much?"

"Because... Uh, because I was... going to give it to Sakura but I wasn't sure if it was good enough," he lied. "What do you think, Shino? Think she'll like it? Is it too fine? Not good enough? Too shiny?"

"Give it to her if you want. I don't see why my opinion would change anything. It's a gift for her so her opinion is more valid than mine, don't you think? Asking me wouldn't do anything to help you."

What a buzz kill. Did Shino always have to be this way?

"Just look at the thing and tell me what you think!" Naruto almost ripped it off its chain to show it to him.

"I did. It's fair enough."

Shino must have been immune. The necklace had no effect on him whatsoever. Maybe he hadn't been looking at it long enough or...

Naruto blinked. That must have been it. Shino's goggles. They were tinted. Shino must not have been able to see the jewel clearly. That's why it wasn't affecting him.

"Hey, Shino. Take your glasses off."

"What?"

"Your goggle things. The thing you're wearing on your face. Take them off for a second."

"Why should I?"

"Please?"

"Tell me why first."

Naruto growled. Shino couldn't make this easy, could he? "Please?"

Shino folded his arms. "Tell me your reason."

Sighing loudly, Naruto came up with another lie. "I just want to see what you look like without them on. I don't know what color your eyes are."

"Brown."

"I want to see for myself."

"Why does it matter so much to you? You've never taken an interest in-"

"I gave you my reason, so please? Just for a second. Please? Please?"

Shino sighed heavily. "Just for one second." Shino reached up to remove his goggles. "Seems like a poor excuse for..."

"Yeah, thanks, Shino. Just for a second and then you can put them back on if you want. Just real quick." Naruto held up the necklace.

Shino took off his goggles and lifted his head, opening his eyes slowly. As his eyes adjusted to the light, Naruto could see that Shino's eyes were indeed brown. Scurrying around his eyebrows were a few tiny insects. They quickly disappeared under his raised hood. Shino's eyes moved to the side and fixed on the jewel. Naruto wasn't paying attention. He was too busy looking at Shino's eyes and the bugs crawling away.

"Thanks, Shino. Yup, they're brown alright." Naruto moved the necklace. Shino moved with it. "Huh?"

Naruto moved the necklace to the right. Shino followed. He moved it to the left. Shino went left, too. He was following the necklace's movements. Naruto lifted it up and Shino's head followed, staring at it open-mouthed.

"Shino?"

Shino had a strange look on his face. He looked daze; half asleep. Naruto moved the necklace again and Shino moved closer, watching it. "It's pretty," he murmured. "It's so pretty. And shiny."

Naruto began to smile. "You like the necklace, don't you?" He moved the necklace up and down, watching as Shino's head bobbed up and down with it, nodding. "Isn't it pretty?"

"Shiny." Shino smiled and reached for it with his hand. Naruto moved to the side, away from Shino but he followed, attracted to the jewel. "Shiny. Shiny..!" Shino was smiling, following the jewel happily, like a cat playing with a string of yarn.

Naruto looked from his hand to Shino's expression and slumped over with a moan. "You mean to tell me... that you're like a bug yourself, Shino? You're attracted to light? Is that why you keep those glasses on all the time? Shiny things make you... like this?"

He watched Shino smile dreamily at the jewel, fascinated by the shiny object. As long as Naruto had him captivated, it was time to get down to business. Naruto moved closer and knelt on the ground. Shino, following the necklace wherever it went, knelt, too. Shino sat on the ground, staring straight at the necklace, transfixed.

"Shino, listen carefully... understand?"

He continued to stare at the jewel slack-jawed.

"You're feeling very relaxed. You're so comfortable. Your whole body feels so relaxed and good."

Shino tilted his head to one side, still staring.

"You're starting to feel very sleepy. You're getting sleepy, Shino. Very sleepy."

Shino's eyes started drooping.

"That's it. Your eyes are very heavy. They're feeling so very, very heavy. You want to go to sleep. You're so sleepy."

Shino's head was beginning to nod. Trying not to yawn, Shino rubbed his eye with his sleeve. He looked almost cute while doing it. Like watching an infant fight off sleep and failing.

"You're so sleepy. Very sleepy."

Shino started to gnaw on his sleeve and his eyelids drooped a little further.

"You're getting sleepier and sleepier and sleepier and sleepier..."

Shino started to fall over but managed to catch himself in time. As his head bobbed again and again, Shino started to lower himself to the ground. Laying on the ground, Shino rested his head on his arm and watched the necklace spin slowly from left to right. Feeling very comfortable and sleepy, Shino curled up and started to close his eyes.

"Go to sleep, Shino. It's alright. You're so sleepy."

Shino closed his eyes, giving in without much of a fight.

"Good. Good... Now let yourself go. Fall deeper and deeper asleep. Relax." Naruto tucked the necklace back under his collar and moved closer to Shino's ear, whispering to him softly. "Now, Shino... you are so deeply relaxed and happy that you will do anything I say. Understand? You will follow my every command."

Shino snuggled into his arm with a sigh.

"When I snap my fingers and say the word 'sleep', you will fall back into a deep trance and obey me completely. When I snap my fingers and say the word 'awake', you will wake up from your trance and not remember that I had put you into a trance."

Shino didn't move so Naruto had no way of knowing if he would follow his commands or not.

"Ok... Awake." Naruto snapped his fingers.

Shino opened his eyes and shut them again, moaning. Burrowing into his arm, Shino felt around with his other hand. "Where are my..?" His fingers brushed against his goggles and he picked them up, putting them on. He looked over his shoulder at Naruto. "What did you do?"

"What makes you think I did something?"

"The fact that I'm on the ground and don't remember how is a good start."

Naruto hoped for the best. He snapped his fingers. "Sleep."

Shino toppled over, laying on the ground again sound asleep. Naruto poked him in the ribs. No response. He lifted Shino's arm and dropped it. He was definitely out. Naruto smiled.

"Shino, when you wake up from this trance, you will not question me and you will forget our conversation from a few minutes ago. You will get up and go about your business as usual." He snapped his fingers. "Awake."

Shino sat up with a moan. He clearly didn't remember how he had gotten on the ground but didn't have the desire to question it. He stood up and continued on his way as if nothing had happened. Naruto watched him go with a smirk.

This went fairly well. Shino was easy to put under. Now Naruto wanted to find someone else to toy with for a while.

* * *

Please review! ^-^


	9. Number One Fan

**Chapter 9: Number One Fan**

Naruto wandered around in search of someone else he could use this power on. Some of his friends were off on missions and others were scattered around the village. He still wanted to use this power on Sakura but it became clear that it wouldn't be so easy. In fact, it might be impossible. His only hope was to use it indirectly on her, which meant using it on other people in order to get her to do as he wanted. He tried this with Sai but things didn't go as planned.

"Maybe I can try it again." Naruto shook his head at the thought. "No. Even I know better than to try the same thing twice. Sakura will just do the same thing she did last time."

He should probably keep his distance from Sakura for a while. He didn't want her to get suspicious.

"But that doesn't mean I can't still have some fun with Sai." Naruto hurried off to find him with a new idea in mind.

After searching the park and the shopping area, he finally found Sai walking by himself towards his home. Naruto called out to him and Sai stopped.

"Hey, Sai. Whatcha doing?"

"I was just returning home for a bit."

Naruto gave his finger a snap, only to have Sai stare at him in confusion.

"That's right," Naruto said quietly to himself. He had never given Sai a command to fall back into a trance. Which meant he would have to put him under all over again.

"Why did you snap your fingers?" Sai asked.

"Just seeing if I could. They say some people can't do it."

Sai seemed satisfied with his answer.

Naruto unzipped his jacket and pulled out the necklace.

Sai's eyes were drawn to it immediately. "Oh, that's the necklace you were showing me before, isn't it?"

"So you recognize it, huh?"

"Yes."

Naruto started to spin it in his fingers, making the jewel rotate from side to side rather than having it swing. Sai's eyes followed its every rotation. He couldn't look away from it. For some reason, he wanted to watch it spin and sparkle.

"That's a pretty jewel," Sai said softly. He sounded like he was half-asleep already.

Naruto wondered if it would be easier to put Sai into a trance a second time around.

Within no time at all, Sai started to become drowsy without Naruto having to say anything. His suspicions appeared to be correct. Sai was more easily put under a second time. Rather than stand around and wonder why this was, Naruto set to work putting Sai into another trance. He spoke to him in a soft, soothing tone, his words slow and rhythmic. Sai's eyes began to droop little by little and his head started to bob.

"Your eyes are getting heavy... You're feeling very sleepy... Very sleepy..."

Sai's eyes drooped a little more, almost closing completely. At Naruto's soothing words, Sai's eyes soon grew too heavy for him to keep open and they finally closed.

"That's it..." Naruto whispered to him. "Now... you-"

"Naruto?"

Naruto flinched and spun around, covering the jewel with his hand. "Sakura!" he yelped in surprise. "Wha- what are you doing here?"

"I was just walking by and thought I'd say hi." She gave him a suspicious look. "Why are you so jumpy? What are you doing?"

"Me? Oh! I was just... I was just, um..."

THUD.

Naruto looked back and saw Sai on the ground. He was asleep on his feet but apparently his body was too relaxed to support him and he fell over.

"Crap."

Sai lifted himself up and looked around. "What the..?"

Naruto stepped in front of Sai to block Sakura's view of him. He chuckled nervously when Sakura gave him another look.

"Hm..." She pouted in suspicion. "Well... Whatever you are doing, kindly leave me out of it."

"Sure thing. Heh heh heh..!"

Sakura didn't leave as he expected her to. "So you are up to something."

"Me? No! No way."

"What are you doing?"

"Nothing."

"Tell me."

"I wasn't..."

Sai grabbed onto Naruto's arm and pulled himself up. "Naruto..." he mumbled sleepily. "I'm tired."

Sakura looked at the heavy eyes on her teammate and her face softened. "Oh. Oh, I get it."

"Huh?" Naruto wondered what she thought. She couldn't have known that he was trying to put Sai into a trance. Surely she wasn't that smart.

Sakura grinned and said, "You were escorting Sai back to his place, weren't you?"

"Uh..."

"His place is right there and Sai said he was tired so you must have been helping him out."

"... Yeah."

Sakura rolled her eyes. "You're just embarrassed about admitting it. Typical Naruto." She suspected that Naruto didn't want her to find out that he was helping Sai because it would show a side of him he didn't want her to see. Either that or he thought helping someone like Sai was an embarrassing thing for some reason. She knew Naruto didn't want to admit such a thing, but she didn't know why he would find it so embarrassing.

She decided to leave them alone. She gave them a little wave and was off.

Naruto breathed a sigh of relief. "That was close."

Sai yawned in his ear. "I feel really sleepy and don't know why." Sai gave his cheek a little slap, trying to wake himself up.

Naruto didn't want Sai to wake up fully because it would be harder to put him in a trance. As long as he was tired, it would be easy. Naruto pulled out the necklace and spun it again, hoping Sai would see it and submit again.

Sure enough, he did and soon he grew quiet and stood perfectly still.

To make sure they weren't disturbed, Naruto guided Sai into the alley and continued from there.

Naruto kept him calm with soothing words and a comforting tone. Sai's head hung as his eyes closed, letting Naruto know he was ready for his commands.

"Sai, went I snap my fingers, you will fall back into a deep trance. When I snap my fingers again and say the word 'awake', you will wake up from your trance. Understand?"

Sai nodded.

Now he just had to test it. Naruto snapped his fingers. "Awake."

Sai opened his eyes and lifted his head. He stretched and looked around. "I feel like I fell asleep but I don't remember..." A yawn interrupted him. Sai rubbed his shoulder, feeling stiff. "Why are we in an alley?"

"I thought we could chat and not be in anyone's way over here."

"Oh." Sai looked back at him. "Chat about what?"

Naruto snapped his fingers and Sai's head fell forward, out like a light. It worked. "Ok, Sai. When you wake up from your trance, you will do anything I say. You admire me so much, you will feel very loyal to me and be willing to do whatever I tell you to do. You will be my servant."

Sai nodded.

Naruto wanted to have some real fun now. Hopefully with Sai as his servant, he could command respect from him and make sure Sai didn't annoy him with his usual idiosyncrasies. The nicknames were annoying enough.

"Awake." Naruto snapped his fingers.

Sai opened his eyes and looked up at Naruto. Nothing appeared to have changed on the surface.

"Sai, follow me to the park."

"Yes, sir," Sai responded.

Naruto grinned at being called 'sir' so respectfully. Apparently, it worked. Naruto led Sai to the park and stopped. "Sai, I'm trying to find some of our friends. Do you think you can help me?"

"Of course. What do you need?"

Naruto thought about what he wanted. He had already used this power on Neji and Shino. Who else could he use this on? "Find Kiba and bring him here to me."

"Yes, sir." Sai quickly hurried off to find Kiba.

Naruto stood at the entrance to the park and smiled. This may turn out to be more fun than he thought.

* * *

Please review! ^-^


	10. Kiba

**Chapter 10: Kiba**

Naruto paced, thinking of what he should do with Kiba. There were so many possibilities. If he didn't like one command, he could always change it and have him do something else.

He heard Sai and Kiba approach and stopped pacing. "Thanks, Sai. Can you give us a minute? I'll come get you when I'm ready."

Sai nodded with a smile. "Sure thing." Sai quickly left.

Naruto bit his lip to keep himself from giggling at the thought of what he was going to do to him.

"So, what's up?" Kiba asked him. "Sai brought me over here for a reason, so out with it."

"Well, I…"

Naruto looked down. Akamaru was with him. This may be a problem. What if Akamaru barked? What if he warned Kiba that something strange was happening? What if he tried to bite Naruto in order to protect his master? If he expected this to work, he couldn't have the dog around. It was too big of a risk.

"Say, Kiba?"

"Yeah?"

"Mind if we talk alone for a bit?"

"We are alone."

"No, I meant…" He glanced down. "Akamaru."

Kiba looked down. "Him? What about him?"

"Well, I said I wanted to speak with you alone. So…"

Kiba looked offended. "Don't tell me you have a problem with Akamaru. Since when?"

"No, no, I don't."

"Well, if you want to speak with me, you can do it with him here."

"But I said alone."

"Consider Akamaru and I one person in that case."

"Well, you are usually always together…" Naruto rubbed the back of his neck. This was going to be difficult.

How was he supposed to get Kiba alone? This was a bad idea. Why did he want to do this to Kiba in the first place? He should have known it would be almost as impossible as getting a date out of Sakura. What was he thinking?

There had to be a way to get those two apart. Maybe if he threw a stick and had Akamaru chase it. No, that wouldn't work. Dog or not, he was a ninja hound. He was well trained and wouldn't be that easily fooled. Besides, he had never actually seen Akamaru play fetch before. Not unless Kiba was the one doing the throwing.

"The thing is, Kiba…" He had to come up with a good lie to get him alone with Kiba. "I, uh… It's about… Shino."

"What about him?"

After he said Shino's name, a plan came into mind and Naruto knew what he should say.

"He's been kind of a pain lately. And I have this secret I wanted to let you in on, but Shino keeps popping up all over the place. He expects to see you and Akamaru together, so I figured that if we have Akamaru move a little further away from us, not only will he help us keep watch for him, but it would also throw Shino off. Get what I'm saying?"

He hoped it would be enough to fool him.

"Oh!" said Kiba with a big grin on his face. "Why didn't you just say so? Yeah, no problem. Akamaru, go keep watch for Shino over there, boy."

"Bark, bark!" The dog ran off.

Kiba chuckled. "Yeah, I know how it is. Shino. Man… I tell ya." Kiba shook his head.

As he talked, Naruto discreetly pulled the necklace out of his jacket and held it up.

"I tell ya. The guy claims he has better stealth than me and Akamaru. Seems to think a dog doesn't know how to be quiet. What an insult. Akamaru's great. We've sneaked up on tons of guys and they never knew what hit them. Shino doesn't know what he's… talking… about."

Kiba stopped talking, catching sight of the necklace. His smug smile diminished and he became calm.

If Kiba hadn't been so eager to show Shino up, he might have suspected something or asked more questions. Instead, his eagerness clouded his judgement and he fell right into Naruto's hands.

Kiba grew sleepy and listened to all of Naruto's instructions. Within a matter of minutes, Kiba had fallen under Naruto's spell and was leaning against the stone wall fencing the park.

"When I snap my fingers and say the word 'sleep', you will fall back into a trance and do everything I say. When I snap my fingers and say 'awake', you will wake up and not remember being hypnotized. Do you understand, Kiba?"

Kiba nodded his head up and down.

"Ok. When you wake up, you will forget about me telling you to keep watch for Shino and about having a secret. Awake." Naruto snapped his fingers.

Kiba woke up and pushed himself into a standing position. "So what's up, Naruto?"

"Oh, not much." He snapped his fingers. "Sleep."

Kiba closed his eyes.

"Ok, Kiba. When you wake up this time, you will…" Naruto smiled at the thought. "You will want to play fetch. Like a dog."

He wanted to make him act like a dog, too, but he would save that one for later.

"Awake." He snapped his fingers.

Kiba woke up and looked around. Then he looked at Naruto and asked, "Wanna play fetch with me?"

"Sure." Naruto picked up a fallen twig and threw it. "Fetch!"

"I got it! I got it!"

Kiba ran after the stick and picked it up and put it in his mouth. He hurried back to Naruto and asked him to throw it again. He did and the same thing occurred.

Over and over again, Kiba chased after the twig and brought it back in his teeth. After a while, Naruto started to get bored with the game and wanted to stop, but Kiba wouldn't let him. He wanted to keep playing.

"You can find someone else to play with you, can't you?"

"Good point. See you later, Naruto." Kiba whistled. "Let's go, Akamaru! Come on, boy!" Kiba carried the stick in his fist and ran out further into the park to find someone else to play with.

Satisfied with what he had done so far, Naruto started to wander around for someone else to torment.

* * *

Deeper in the park, Kiba came across two friends who would hopefully play with him.

"Hey, guys!"

Lee and Neji looked up. "Hi, Kiba."

Kiba handed Neji the stick. "Throw this."

Neji looked at the damp stick. "O…k." He gave the stick a toss and watched, baffled, as Kiba ran after it.

Kiba picked up the stick, put it in his mouth and ran back to Neji.

Realizing why the stick was so damp, Neji looked down at his hand in disgust and tried wiping it off on his pant leg.

"Throw it again."

"No!"

"Please?"

"No!"

"I will!" Lee volunteered, throwing his hand into the air. Kiba handed him the stick and watched Lee hurl it far away.

"I got it! I got it!" Kiba called excitedly as he ran after it. No one had thrown it that far before. This was fun!

Lee's eyes sparkled. "This must be a new form of training!"

"What kind of training is that?" Neji asked, repulsed. "He's asking us to throw a stick while he chases after it. That's called playing fetch."

"Perhaps that is why his bond with Akamaru is so strong! What was thought to be no more than canine games is actually a way to get stronger and form bonds with your companions! This is why Kiba's attacks are so strong and his bonds so deep!"

Neji didn't believe it. "No, something else is going on. This doesn't seem like training to me."

"I want to join in this new training! Teach me, Kiba!"

"You cannot be serious." Neji gave him a look, though he actually wasn't all that surprised.

Lee was already running with his arms in the air, begging Kiba to allow him to learn this new training of his.

"I don't know if it's training," said Kiba. "I just wanted to play fetch."

"With Akamaru?" asked Neji.

"He can't throw the stick the way people can. I suppose if no one else wants to play with us, I can have him transform into me and play together."

Neji frowned. "Who else have you played with today?"

"Just Naruto. He got tired of it and told me to find other people to play with."

Neji frowned again. "Naruto, huh? Alright, then."

Suspicious, Neji left the others to go find Naruto, knowing he was up to something.

* * *

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	11. Strange

**Chapter 11: Strange**

Neji searched and searched, unwilling to waste chakra to locate Naruto. Just when he was thinking it would be easier and faster to use his Byakugan, he found him.

He didn't know what Naruto had done to Kiba, or how, but he was going to find out. He would proceed with caution and asked Naruto some questions. Neji was usually pretty direct, but maybe, to avoid suspicion, he should go about this a different way. He could beat around the bush a little, then be forward. Either that or he could threaten Naruto. That sounded pretty good to him. Put Naruto against a wall and order him to explain himself and Kiba's state.

Seeing the tuft of blond hair, Neji approached.

Then he stopped. A new feeling had come over him. He no longer felt annoyed or suspicious. He didn't even feel angry.

He felt… good. He felt as if his whole body was being tickled. So warm and pleasant.

Neji shut his eyes and tried to shake off the feeling. The feeling subsided and he called out to Naruto before he could leave.

"Hey, Naruto."

He turned around. "Yeah?"

Neji took one look at him and started giggling.

Naruto blinked.

Neji covered his mouth with his hand and looked away.

Naruto remembered. "Whenever he looks at me, he will feel as if his whole body is being tickled. That's why he's laughing."

Neji tried to calm himself down. He started to collect himself and tried again. "Naruto, I… Heh." He started snickering. He tried to stop it but he ended up snorting instead which wasn't much better.

Why was this happening? Why did he feel this way whenever he looked at Naruto? He wasn't that funny-looking. Yet, why couldn't he stop himself from laughing? Was it because of this tickling feeling? Tickling and laughter went hand in hand so it made perfect sense. But why? Why was this happening? Why did he feel as if he were being tickled every time he saw Naruto?

Taking pity on Neji, Naruto walked over. "Neji?"

Neji tried to shove him away, unsure of what was happening to him. "Shoo, go away."

"You're the one who called me, remember?"

Neji covered his mouth to keep from laughing. He wished it would stop.

"Look at me."

He didn't want to for fear it would make his giggle fit worse. But he couldn't resist either. He wanted to look at him.

He looked and found Naruto's blue eyes staring back at him. Neji instantly calmed down and relaxed. Those eyes. So big and blue. So comforting. Such a nice blue color.

"Feel better?"

"Huh?"

"Do you feel better, Neji?"

"Oh. Yeah. I do. Thanks."

Why was he getting so lost in his eyes? Was it because he had never really looked at them before? Just glances and polite eye-contact. Now he was really looking into them. Really looking. In such detail. So deeply.

"Neji?"

"Huh?" He blinked. "Yeah, I'm fine. I'm ok."

"Good." Naruto patted him on the back. "You're feeling much better, right?"

He agreed completely. "Yes. I do."

"Why don't you go and get something to eat, ok? You look a little hungry."

Neji nodded numbly. "Yes. I will do that."

Naruto shoved him off in the right direction and watched him leave. Hopefully this would keep him distracted for a little bit.

* * *

Neji went and got a snack at a small stand in the shopping area. He didn't feel hungry, but he didn't know what else to do. He chewed on the cabob, lost in thought.

Why did he blindly do as Naruto said? Why did he feel the way he did when he saw him? It didn't make any sense. Those blue eyes…

Neji shook his head. Something weird was going on. He had to make sense of it.

"Hi, Neji."

He looked up. "Hey, Tenten. I thought you had things to do."

"Just passing through. You looked troubled so I figured I'd see what's up."

Neji looked away. "I don't know what's wrong. I'm trying to figure it out."

"Sort your feelings?"

"I don't know."

Tenten sat next to him on the bench. "Well, what's wrong? What's going on with you? Let's start there."

Neji sighed. "I'm not sure. I mean…" He sighed again.

"Go on."

He decided not to use any names.

"Well, recently… I've noticed that whenever I see this person, I get this strange sensation. It doesn't happen when I think about them. Only when I see them. And it just started happening out of the blue."

Those blue eyes.

Neji shook his head.

"Anyway… I also noticed that when I look into their eyes, I calm down, no matter how worked up I am. I calm down instantly. I even started getting lost in their eyes which has never happened before. I don't know if it's becauseI never looked at them until now or what. And I've found myself agreeing with them for some reason. Even if it's something I would never agree to. I don't know why I agree with them but I do. It's strange."

Tenten grinned.

"And when I see them, I just…" Neji sighed again. "I just about had a giggle fit in front of them this last time. I don't know what happened or why this is happening to me."

Tenten chuckled. "Isn't it obvious?"

Neji looked at her.

"Sounds to me like you have a crush."

Neji's eyes went wide and he jumped off the bench. "No way! That can't be it! There's no way that's true!"

"It sounds it to me."

"But… But I can't. I mean… I can't!" Neji shook his head from side to side, trying to shake away the disgusting image. "I never had these feelings before. Why now?"

"A crush can happen at any time, Neji. Some happen at first sight, others develop over time. That's just how it is." She got off the bench and gave him a pat on the back. "I will keep this just between us. If Lee or Gai-sensei found out about this, there would be no end to it."

"It would just make things worse, that's for certain," Neji said, thinking of the humiliation he would have to endure.

"It's our little secret then." Tenten winked.

Neji flinched, forgetting about the macho clones and remembering what Tenten deduced. "I really don't think that's it, though!"

"Figure it out. See ya!" Tenten left him alone.

Neji felt panicked. It couldn't be what she thought. It made no sense. A crush? On Naruto? Of all people, him? If he did, what would he do about Hinata? No, never mind that! There was no way it was true. He couldn't have a crush on Naruto. It wasn't possible.

But these feelings. What else could they be?

* * *

Ino finished her magazine and gave Sakura her undivided attention. "Just what do you think Naruto's up to anyway?"

"I don't know. But I know he's up to something."

"Then why don't you go tattle on him? Or figure out what he's doing?"

"Because I'd rather not get involved."

"But it's enough to warrant complaints, I see."

Sakura turned around. "Sai could barely stand up and he told Naruto he was tired. At first, I figured it was Naruto trying to help him home and found the whole thing embarrassing. After I thought about it a little more, I realized it couldn't have been that simple. I was giving him the benefit of the doubt."

"So… What do you think that whole thing was about, then?" Ino was also curious because it involved Sai.

"I don't know. Sai might have been drunk, but he's not of age."

"You think Naruto could have slipped him some without him knowing?"

Sakura thought about it. "That could be why he was trying to cover it up. He didn't want to get in trouble. I can so see Naruto doing something like that just to see what would happen."

"There you go. He got Sai drunk and was trying to cover it up so no one would know." Ino tucked the magazine under the counter. "Mystery solved."

"Yeah, I guess." Sakura still wasn't sure. A lot of strange things have been going on lately now that she thought about it.

"Oh, guess what?" Ino leaned over the counter. Judging from the look on her face, she had a juicy secret to tell.

Sakura moved closer. "Yeah?"

"I heard that the Kazekage is paying a visit to the Leaf Village tomorrow."

"Gaara's coming? Naruto will be excited about that. How'd you find out?"

"I got an order for flowers to be delivered to the hotel where he'll be staying. Part of the hospitality. The order was a welcome arrangement with the message in Gaara's name. 'Welcome, Kazekage', it reads. I put two and two together."

"It must be very hush-hush," said Sakura. "Only a few people are being told."

"Only the people it concerns. The villagers don't know yet. He's here for a meeting so I don't think they need to know. They'll make a big fuss over it. The last thing he needs are people crowding around him when he has places to be. Know what I'm saying?"

Sakura nodded. "I better hold off on tell Naruto, then. I bet Lady Tsunade will fill me in either tonight or tomorrow about the event."

"Why? Just because you're her student? Does it really concern you that much?"

Sakura heard the snooty undertone to her voice implying that Ino thought she was more important than Sakura which was why she knew about Gaara's visit before she did.

"You only know because you were commissioned for flowers. I'll probably get an official briefing about this visit," Sakura told her smugly.

"Even so, you still heard it from me first."

Sakura was too busy glaring at Ino to notice Akamaru carrying an exhausted Kiba on his back while Lee danced around begging to throw the stick again.

* * *

Please review! ^-^


	12. In Full Bloom

**Chapter 12: In Full Bloom**

As the day turned to night, Naruto found himself feeling tired and wanting to go home to rest. He could cause more mischief tomorrow. All this excitement was starting to wear him out a little.

"Naruto!"

He stopped and saw Sai running up behind him. "Oh, yeah, I almost forgot about you."

Sai stopped just short of him, panting. He must have run all over the village to find him.

"Naruto, what are we doing now?"

"We?"

Sai nodded. "I thought we could hang out for a bit if you wanted. Just the two of us."

"Two of us?" When he said it like that it almost sounded like a date. "Uh, well…"

"My treat, of course. Anything you like."

That made it sound more tolerable. "Well, when you put it that way… Alright. Let's get some food."

Sai grinned broadly, something he rarely ever did. It was a little weird, but he had a nice smile so seeing him grin like this made Naruto happy. Sai looked truly happy. It was nice.

Sai treated Naruto to dinner. Since it was Sai's treat, Naruto ordered the most expensive thing on the menu. Naruto was too busy eating to notice Sai watching him with admiration. He couldn't take his eyes off Naruto. Everything he did was absolutely wonderful. The way he ate his ramen, his taste in food, everything was amazing.

Only when Naruto pushed his empty bowl aside did he notice Sai's gaze. "Uh…"

Sai smiled at him.

Naruto felt himself starting to sweat. The way Sai was looking at him… It was creepy.

"You're so cool, Naruto. I've never met anyone like you before. You're amazing in every way."

"Uh, thanks." Naruto stood up. "I better get going."

"I'll follow you."

"You don't have to."

Naruto started walking and saw Sai's shadow following him. He picked up the pace but the shadow was still there. He started jogging and heard Sai's footsteps behind him. He started running. He turned his head and saw Sai running alongside him.

"Ahh! Go away!"

"But I want to be with you, Naruto. I just admire you so much."

He must have worded the command wrong. He thought Sai would be quiet and submissive, not obsessive and devoted. He would do anything Naruto said but he didn't want to leave his side. This was going to drive Naruto crazy.

"Sai, listen to me." Naruto stopped running and Sai halted beside him. "I want to have some time alone, ok? I will talk to you tomorrow, ok? Go get some rest and I'll see you tomorrow."

"Ok!" Sai ran off and Naruto breathed a sigh of relief.

* * *

The next morning Naruto awoke to Sai peering at him through his bedroom window. Naruto quickly closed the shades and got dressed, thinking of what new commands he should give his hypnotized friends.

He left his apartment and was followed closely by Sai. He told Sai to get him some breakfast and he quickly ran off.

Naruto wandered the streets until he found Kiba begging Shino to play fetch with him. Shino refused.

"Hey, Kiba, over here," Naruto called. He took the stick from Kiba and threw it. When Kiba ran off to retrieve it, Naruto moved closer to Shino. "Morning."

"Morning," he answered.

"Has he been bugging you all morning? No pun intended."

Shino shrugged. "I don't do fetch."

They watched as Kiba began asking people on the street if they would play fetch with him. After getting too many strange looks and watching people move quickly away, Naruto decided to show Kiba some mercy and change the command.

He waved Kiba over. Knowing that he had given the same trigger to Shino, Naruto had to be quiet so Shino wouldn't pick up the same command. He thought about given everyone a different trigger, but it would be easier to keep track if they were all the same.

He snapped his fingers in Kiba's face and whispered in his ear, "Sleep."

Kiba rested his head on Naruto's shoulder as his body pitched forward.

"When you wake up, you will no longer want to play fetch. Instead, you will be terrified of flowers." He snapped his fingers. "Awake."

Kiba opened his eyes and stood up straight.

At the same time, Sai showed up with a pork bun for Naruto's breakfast.

"Which one of you wants to do me a favor?" Naruto asked.

Sai's hand shot into the air. "I will! I will!"

"What's the favor?" Kiba asked.

"Just keep an eye out for Sakura and let me know where she is. Ok?"

"I'm on it!" Sai flashed away.

Kiba stretched lazily. "I guess there's nothing better to do. I'll keep an eye out, but I'm not searching. Akamaru and I have stuff to do. Let's go, boy."

Naruto moved closer to Shino. "Have you seen Sakura at all?"

"No. I haven't been looking, either."

Naruto had just about given up on that date, but he had to keep Sai out of his hair for a bit. He was also curious and wanted to make sure she wouldn't stumble upon his mischief making.

Moments later, Kiba came running down the street as fast as he could. Sakura and Ino were behind him, Ino with a flower in her hair.

"What is your problem?" Ino called after him.

Sai showed up a second later and pointed. "I found her, Naruto, sir."

"Did you just call him 'sir', Sai?" Sakura asked.

"Maybe he's still drunk," Ino whispered.

"Thanks, Sai. Keep your mouth shut, ok?"

Sai nodded, buttoning his lip.

Sakura gave Naruto a suspicious look. "What are you up to, Naruto?"

"Nothing. Everything's fine."

"Hmm…"

Naruto leaned over to Sai. "Sai, ask Ino for the flower in her hair and bring it here."

Sai nodded and went over to Ino. "Ino, may I have the flower in your hair, please?"

"Why?" she asked. "Is it for something important?" She blushed and fidgeted playfully. "Is it for someone you like?"

"Yes," he said with a smile. "It's for Naruto."

"Huh?"

"He wants the flower in your hair. Please give it to me."

Ino reluctantly took the flower out of her hair and gave it to Sai who took it to Naruto.

"Good. Now go chase Kiba with it."

"Ok." Sai ran after Kiba with the flower in his hand.

Ino and Sakura looked at each other. "Ok, what's going on?" they asked.

"Nothing. Just a joke," said Naruto. "A private joke. What?"

They didn't believe him.

To avoid letting the truth get out, Naruto made up an excuse and ran off before they could question him further.

The girls then looked at Shino who had been observing the entire time. "Well? What has Naruto been up to?"

Shino looked at them. "I couldn't say. He never mentioned anything."

"Even if he didn't say it," said Sakura, "has he been doing anything weird lately? Anything that would make you wonder what he's up to?"

Shino, hypnotized not to question Naruto, did not consider anything to be suspicious or worthy of his attention. He overlooked everything he did.

"No, not really," he told them.

"Everything seems fine?"

"From my point of view, yes." Shino began to walk away.

If he didn't call anything into question, then maybe they had the wrong idea. It didn't seem that way to them, but Shino was usually the first one to take notice of such things.

* * *

Neji had finally put the matter out of his mind and carried on as he normally did. He ran into Hinata carrying heavy grocery bags out of a store and offered to help. He took all the bags from her and followed her back to her house. Aside from her thanking him, they didn't speak during most of the journey. Then Hinata asked how Neji was doing to fill the silence.

"I'm doing alright. How about you?"

"Oh, I'm ok. I was going to make dinner tonight but I realized that I might have gotten too much." She started to fidget. "I was thinking about giving some to a friend, but… he might, I mean, they might not…"

Neji knew she was talking about Naruto.

"Whatever you make is fine. You're a good cook."

"Really? Oh, but what if he doesn't like it? Or if I'm being too forward."

"You're not, Lady Hinata."

"What if… I was thinking… I wanted to make it look nice. But it might be embarrassing."

"No one's going to laugh at food made by a thoughtful friend. Trust me."

"Even if I make it to look like his face?"

Neji burst out laughing and Hinata turned red.

It wasn't because of what she said. Neji caught a glimpse of Naruto leaping overhead and the tickling feeling returned. He couldn't help it.

"No, no! Lady Hinata, I'm not laughing at you. It was something else. I'm sorry. I didn't mean for it…"

Before Hinata could recover, she nearly got mowed down by Kiba who ran by screaming his head off.

"Stay away from me!" he cried.

Neji grabbed Hinata by the arm and pulled her back as Sai came running after Kiba with his arm outstretched, holding a flower.

"What in the world is going on in this village?" Neji pondered.

* * *

Please review! ^-^


	13. Love?

**Chapter 13: Love?**

It was time for a break. Naruto stopped by Ichiraku for some lunch. While he ate, he thought of all the things he could do next. Should he keep these commands or give his friends new ones? He could also find more people to hypnotize, too.

As he left, he saw Neji looking in a shop window. When he called out to him, Neji ran off. Curious, Naruto followed him. He jumped in front of Neji and smiled at him. "Hi."

"Ah!" Neji shut his eyes tight and turned his back to him. He seemed to be afraid of him for some reason.

"Everything ok, Neji?"

"Just go away!"

Though it was a pleasant feeling, Neji didn't want to feel it anymore. It just left him feeling confused. After what Tenten said, he was worried that she could have been right. He didn't want her to be right. He still thought such a thing was impossible.

"Why won't you look at me?" Naruto asked.

"I just don't want to, ok?"

He seemed very anxious so Naruto tried to calm him down. He put his hand on Neji's shoulder and told him to turn around. "Turn around and look at me. You want to now, right?"

Finding himself in agreement at Naruto's touch, Neji turned around to look at him.

The tickling feeling was back and Neji covered his mouth to keep from laughing.

"This is insane," he said, looking away. "Why does this keep happening to me?"

"Are you in pain?"

"No. Quite the opposite."

"Then why is it a problem?" Naruto didn't understand why Neji would feel tortured if it was a good feeling.

"I don't want to feel this way."

"You don't want to feel good?"

"No, I…" Neji looked at Naruto's eyes and calmed down instantly.

He felt so calm and peaceful. What a nice feeling. To be so tranquil.

"There. Feel better, right?" Naruto asked him, seeing the calm expression on Neji's face.

Neji nodded his head. "Uh-huh."

He couldn't fight this feeling anymore. How could it be wrong when it felt so good? What a wonderful feeling. He decided to bask in it rather than deny it.

He stepped closer to Naruto and lay his head on Naruto's shoulder.

"What are you doing?" Naruto asked him.

Neji brought his arms up and held him. "I don't know anymore. I just… can't help myself."

Naruto stiffened. This was very uncomfortable. "Well, I'm gonna go." He pushed Neji aside and started to walk away.

Neji reached out and grabbed Naruto's arm. "Don't leave."

Naruto looked at the hand grabbing him and then into Neji's eyes. "Uh…"

"I can't…" Neji tried to think and form words while looking into his blue eyes. It was pretty hard. "When I look at you, when I'm near you… I feel… I just feel so good. When I'm not near you, I feel confused, wondering why I feel this way. As long as I'm with you, I feel good and don't question it. I want to stay with you. Better than feeling confused and upset. You make me feel… I don't know how to describe it. I just love the feeling. And if you caused it, then maybe that means that I… That I…"

"Eh?!"

This was all wrong. He just wanted to improve Neji's mood and make it easier to be around him. He never thought that Neji would come to associate these feelings as ones of love. He thought he had a crush on Naruto because he only felt this way when he was around him. Neither of them wanted this, but Neji was the only one who couldn't help how he felt. Naruto had inadvertently caused Neji to mistake these feelings for something else. Something that neither of them wanted.

Naruto pulled his arm free. "No! Neji, listen to me. You don't really love me. This is all wrong."

"You're telling me. But I can't help the way I feel. Believe me, I've tried."

"But this isn't love."

"It's the only explanation. Why else would I be feeling these feelings, and only when I'm around you?"

"Because… Uh…"

Losing sight of Naruto's eyes, Neji clasped the sides of Naruto's head and turned his gaze back to him. When he looked into Naruto's eyes, he felt so calm and happy. He never wanted to lose this feeling. He hated feeling anxious. And his eyes were so beautiful to look at.

"Neji, this is creeping me out. Knock it off."

Neji grinned at him. "So blue… I can't take my eyes off them. Such a lovely blue color."

Naruto groaned. "This is ridiculous."

Then he realized how easy it was to remedy.

"Oh, duh. I can just snap you out of this."

Neji blinked. "Snap me out of..?"

Naruto snapped his fingers. "Sleep."

Neji closed his eyes and fell into Naruto's chest, sound asleep.

"Neji, when you wake up, you will no longer have that tickling feeling when you look at me and my eyes will no longer calm you down and you will no longer agree with me when I touch you."

Just to be safe, he decided to get rid of all the commands. He couldn't risk Neji mistaking anything for feelings of love towards him. It creeped both of them out.

"And when you wake up, you will forget about ever having those feelings towards me. Awake." He snapped his fingers and Neji woke up.

"What happened?"

"You tripped. You ok?"

Neji stood up and brushed himself off. "I think so."

"Well, I've got to get going, so see you later." Naruto hurried off before Neji could question him.

Along the way, he ran into Shino who was observing a beetle crawling up the trunk of a tree. Kiba was with him, reading a magazine. It seemed he had finally lost Sai and the flower. Which gave Naruto another idea.

"Shino, come here a second."

Shino came over.

"Could you do me a favor and get something for me?"

He didn't question what it was. He couldn't. He simply agreed. "Ok."

* * *

Ino was watering the flowers in the shop when Shino arrived and asked to purchase a bouquet.

"Oh?" She gave him a sly look. "A bouquet, huh? How romantic. Who's caught your eye?"

"Kiba."

She dropped the watering can. "Huh?"

"What?"

"You want flowers for Kiba?"

"Are you going to sell them to me or not?"

"Uh, sure. Hang on a second." Ino went over to the counter. "What's with guys giving each other flowers today?"

She handed him a bouquet and Shino paid for them and left. Curious, she poked her head out of the shop to watch what happened next.

"Kiba."

"Yeah?" Kiba calmly lowered the magazine and Shino shoved the flowers in his face. "Ahh!"

Kiba threw the magazine at him and frantically crawled away. Shino followed him, much slower, holding out the flowers to him. Tripping over his own legs, Kiba scrambled away, screaming. He ran into the street and kept going.

Naruto laughed and thanked Shino for a job well done. "Just pull those out whenever you see him, ok?"

"Alright." Shino didn't question why he should do this, but he didn't decline the request, even though he could. The command didn't make him submissive, just unable to question Naruto. He went along with this of his own choosing because it didn't cause him to go out of his way. That and the fact that he did find it amusing to see Kiba react this way.

Kiba wasn't always the kindest to him and didn't listen to a word Shino said, ever. In a way, this was sort of like revenge.

Ino watched the whole thing take place and shook her head. "I have no idea what's going on around here."

* * *

Please review! ^-^


	14. Submit

**Chapter 14: Submit**

"And he just took off like that?"

"Yeah," said Ino. "He ran like Shino was going to poison him with them. Weird."

"He could have run because he thought Shino was making a romantic gesture and it creeped him out."

"That's what I'm thinking."

Tenten looked around the shop. "Has Neji been in today?"

"No, why?"

"I think he has a crush on someone," she explained. "He told me how he was feeling and I told him it must have been a crush."

"Really? He likes somebody?"

"Yeah. He denied it and flipped out when I suggested it. So cute."

Ino giggled. "I had no idea he liked someone. That's sweet. Who is it?"

"Don't know. He wouldn't say."

"Well, he hasn't been in today. Maybe it's not that serious."

"Or maybe he won't admit it."

After a short visit, Tenten left the flower shop and found Neji in a bookstore, reading. She playfully tapped him on the shoulder and stepped to the side.

"Hello, Tenten," he said in a bored tone.

She wasn't surprised he knew it was her. "So…" She grinned at him. "How are things?"

"Fine."

"How about that crush of yours?"

Neji looked up. "What crush? What are you talking about?"

"You know. Don't deny it. I said I wouldn't say anything to Gai or Lee. That promise still holds." Unless Ino spills to someone else and have word travel.

Neji closed the book and gave her a confused look. "Tenten, what are you talking about?"

"The feelings. You know. The ones you've been having that had you all confused."

"What feelings? What confusion?"

Tenten put her hands on her hips. "Ok, now I'm confused. What are you talking about?"

"What are you talking about?"

"Don't you have a crush on someone?"

Neji shook his head. "No, I don't."

He wasn't acting the way he was before. Maybe he was over it? Or maybe he got better at hiding it.

Or maybe it wasn't really Neji.

Naruto had been doing things in the village lately and people were acting a little strange. Naruto could have been transformed into Neji and didn't do a very good job of acting the part. Or it was something else.

Tenten sighed. "Oh, never mind. It's no big deal."

"Why would you think I had a crush on someone?" Neji asked her. "Did someone say something?"

"No, no. It's nothing. Forget about it."

Neji wasn't so willing to drop it. Only no longer willing to press Tenten for answers. He was a bit curious. Not just about this, but other things. Every time something strange happened, Naruto seemed to be there. There must have been a connection. It was too perfect to be a coincidence.

It was time to do some investigating.

* * *

"Naruto!" Sai ran up behind Naruto and hugged him. "There you are! I finally found you! You just disappeared on me."

Naruto moaned. "Hi, Sai."

"So what are we doing today? Whatever you like. I don't mind at all. You have the best ideas."

Naruto rubbed the back of his head. Maybe it was time to switch the commands with him. This admiration was getting annoying.

He was about to when he saw Sakura walking down the street. He couldn't do it in front of her. It would have to wait.

"What are you guys up to now?" she asked them.

"Nothing."

"If that's the case, are you guys free for dinner tonight? Choji set things up at the barbeque place and invited everyone who could come."

A meal with friends sounded like a good idea. "Sure," said Naruto. "What time?"

"He made the reservation for 6:00 tonight. You good to come?"

"Sure am!" said Naruto excitedly. "I'll be there."

"What about you, Sai?"

"If Naruto's going, I'm going."

Naruto's shoulders slumped.

"I'd go anywhere with him," Sai added.

Naruto's face turned red.

Sakura gave them both a weird look.

"It… It's not what it sounds like!" Naruto said quickly. "He… he didn't mean it like- like… Uh… He…"

Sai smiled. "Naruto's so cool, isn't he? He has a way with words, don't you think?"

Thinking he was kidding, Sakura rolled her eyes. "Yeah, totally. If he stuttered a little less, it might make a full sentence."

Naruto shut his mouth and looked from one to the other. Sakura thought Sai was using sarcasm. At least she didn't think what Naruto was worried she was thinking.

"See you tonight!" Naruto said louder than necessary and grabbed Sai. "Over here, you idiot!"

He dragged Sai away from Sakura and down a different street. This should be far enough. Now he could undo the command he had given Sai.

"Ok, Sai…"

"Ahh!" Kiba came running down the same street and plowed into them both. "Stop it, Shino! Knock it off!"

Shino stood on the other side of the street, holding up the bouquet of flowers. Akamaru whimpered and trotted after his owner.

"Maybe I should undo that one, too…"

Shino walked away without a word.

Naruto made sure they were gone before trying again. "Sai…"

"Naruto!"

"What now?!"

Lee stood behind him doing squats. "Face me in combat! Come on! Do not hold back! Let me see how much stronger my dear friend has become!"

Naruto was in no mood but he knew Lee was not going to leave. Not until he fought somebody. So Naruto did the predictable thing and told Sai to do it.

"Sai will be you opponent. Have fun."

Lee was excited to have a sparring partner and Sai was happy to do whatever Naruto told him.

From around the corner, Neji watched as Sai willingly did whatever Naruto told him to do. Lee was acting normal but had Sai always been so submissive? Kiba was acting oddly, too.

Shino seemed to know something. He must have since he knew exactly what would set Kiba off.

Neji went off in search of Shino and quickly found him. He started asking questions, but Shino was less helpful than usual. He wasn't curious about anything Naruto said or did. This was odd. Since when did Shino not question things?

"Are you saying you know nothing about this?"

Shino was observing another beetle scuttling around a tree. "Hard to say."

"Then you do know something."

"About what?"

"About Naruto. He must be involved. I know he is."

As far as Shino was concerned, there was nothing wrong with anything Naruto did. He didn't question any of it.

"Just tell me."

"If you are so concerned, it would seem more logical to ask him yourself rather than go through a third party in order to obtain answers," said Shino. He couldn't question Naruto, but he was free to do it to everyone else. "If he is the one you are so worried about, why not simply ask him directly?"

"Because I don't know what he's up to."

"Which is why it's a good idea to ask."

"No, I mean that since I don't know what he's doing, I also don't know how he's doing it. It would be foolish to go up to him and start asking questions to his face. He'll know I suspect him of something."

"Which you do."

"But I can't have him know that."

Kiba ran up to Neji and hid behind his back. "They're everywhere! Dammit, there's no way I…"

Shino pulled the bouquet out of his coat and Kiba screamed, running away. Shino slipped it back into his coat to use at another time.

"That's another thing," said Neji. "What's up with that? The flowers. Kiba running scared. What is that about?"

"I don't know."

"You don't know and you don't want to find out? At all?"

Shino shrugged. "It is amusing."

"You're enjoying yourself, aren't you? Freaking him out like that."

Shino had to agree. "At least I am in control of when he leaves. Not look up and realize he's gone in the middle of a sentence."

Control? Was that how this worked? Is that what was going on?

"Thanks, Shino. I'll see you later." Neji walked off.

Naruto must have been using a jutsu on people and that was why this was happening. He didn't know what kind of jutsu it was, but whatever it was, it was causing everyone in the village to act strangely. Naruto must have used it on him as well. That was why he kept waking up with blanks in his memory. Why he kept waking up in Naruto's arms. He kept saying he tripped, but that couldn't be. And Tenten saying that he had a crush on someone based on his actions and what they discussed, despite having no recollection of it. Naruto was to blame.

He would confront Naruto and make sure he didn't use any hand-signs in order to cast the jutsu. He would use Gentle Fist to keep him from doing it if he had to.

When he found him, he grabbed Naruto off the street and pulled him into a narrow alley. He held one of Naruto's hands, knowing he wouldn't be able to sign easily with just one hand.

"Start talking."

"Huh?" Naruto questioned.

"The strange things that have been going on in the village. I know you're responsible. Now tell me what's going on," he demanded.

"I have no idea what you're talking about."

Neji saw Naruto started to raise his free hand and Neji gave him a quick jab to the shoulder. Naruto's arm fell at his side.

"Ouch! What was that for?"

"What kind of jutsu are you using?"

"I'm not using a jutsu. I have no idea what you're talking about."

"You're a bad liar."

"Good enough to fool people in battle, right, Neji?" Naruto said snidely.

Neji glared at him. "I know you did something to Sai and to Kiba and to me. Either you tell me the truth of what's going on right now, or I'll drag you to the Hokage and have you explain it to her."

Naruto tried to snap his fingers but Neji was crushing one hand in his grip and Naruto's other hand was still numb from when Neji jabbed it moments before.

"I swear," Naruto told him, "I didn't use a jutsu. I swear."

"Then how?"

"I need my hand to show you."

"Do you think I'm stupid?" Neji asked him. "How do I know you won't either run off or use the trick on me once your hand is free?"

"Don't you trust me?"

Neji glared at him. "I think it's obvious."

Naruto had to think of a way out of this but Neji wasn't stupid. He wouldn't fall for the same tricks that fooled Kiba. If only he hadn't simply reversed the commands. He should have given him a new one, but it didn't occur to him until now. Even if he told Neji to forget, those who saw him behaving strangely would later bring it to his attention so it wouldn't matter. Whether he remembered or not, if someone told him what happened, he would want answers. The fact that he didn't remember made it even worse.

Naruto wouldn't make the same mistake twice.

"Are you going to talk or not?" Neji growled.

Stall. Naruto had to stall him until the feeling return to his hand. Neji only jabbed him once in the shoulder so it shouldn't take long for him to move his fingers properly.

"Alright, alright. Let me explain." Naruto took a deep breath. "The thing is…"

"Yeah?"

"Well…"

"Yeah? Go on."

"You see…"

"Out with it, Naruto. I haven't got all day."

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry. Alright. Ok, here's what happened." Naruto took another deep breath. "It's really more of an inside joke kind of thing."

"An inside joke?"

"Yeah. How Kiba is acting. It's just an act. Part of a bet kind of thing."

Neji narrowed his eyes. "You expect me to fall for that?"

"It's Kiba. Why wouldn't he do things on a dare?"

Neji was about to argue when he realized Naruto had a point. "And Sai? And what about myself?"

"Sai's clueless. I told him that doing this will help his bonds run deeper with friends and he believed me."

"Sai isn't that clueless. And myself? What about me?"

"What about you?"

"People are telling me I've been acting strange and I don't recall."

"Oh, that!" Naruto chuckled. "I was using a shadow clone transformed into you for kicks. No big deal."

Neji didn't believe him. "You keep saying I tripped whenever I find myself in your chest. Explain that. I don't trip that often. Or fall into people."

"You tripped. That's all."

"I'm not falling for that explanation. Try again."

Naruto could move his fingers again. It stung a little, but he could move them into place. Now he just had to snap them.

"But you did fall into me."

"Why? How?"

"Because you fell asleep. Do you believe that?"

"I'd sooner believe tripping multiple times than believe that."

"It's true. You did."

"Yeah, right."

"You do when I do this." Naruto snapped his fingers. "Sleep."

Neji closed his eyes and went limp. He fell on top of Naruto who buckled under him.

He was not going to make the same mistake twice. Not this time. In order to keep Neji out of the know, he had to make sure he wasn't in his right mind. He also had to make sure that he wouldn't pay attention to anything other people said and that he did whatever Naruto told him to do. There was only one thing Naruto could come up with to do that.

"Neji, when you wake up, you will be my willing slave. You will do anything I tell you to do and never question me. You will be my quiet and helpful servant. Do you understand?"

He nodded.

"Good." Naruto snapped his fingers. "Awake."

Neji woke up. He stood in front of Naruto with a glazed look in the eye, waiting for orders.

Since they had some time before dinner, Naruto decided to take advantage of this.

"Neji, follow me to my house."

He followed Naruto obediently. Naruto took him up to his apartment and let him inside.

"Neji, clean this place up. I want you to clean my apartment."

Neji nodded his head and got to work.

Naruto grinned. "I should have done this from the beginning."

He watched Neji work, looking away only to investigate the noise coming from outside. Kiba was on his back, scrambling backwards in an attempt to get away from Shino who was holding up the bouquet again.

"Still funny," Naruto said to himself.

* * *

Gaara will be showing up in a couple of chapters, so you won't have to wait too much longer.

Please review! ^-^


	15. Dinner

**Chapter 15: Dinner**

When it was just about time to head to the restaurant, Naruto told Neji to stop cleaning and follow him. Once they were on the street, Naruto turned to him and said, "Act normally until I say your name. Only when I say your name. When I do, you will go back to serving me."

Neji nodded and walked off.

"No! You can't make me!" came Kiba's voice.

Naruto turned around and saw Kiba clutching a tree branch for dear life as Shino held the bouquet directly below him. Kiba was acting as if the flowers were a roaring bonfire. He would not come down from the tree no matter how many times Shino asked.

At this rate, they would be late to dinner. It was a really stupid reason to be late, too.

Shino didn't want to miss dinner, even if this was an amusing game. The only reason he kept up his side of the agreement with Naruto for this long was because he enjoyed tormenting Kiba. It wasn't just because Naruto had asked. It was fun. But now it was starting to get tiresome. So why was he still doing it?

Put simply, even Shino no longer knew. He wanted to stop, but for some reason his brain never sent the message to his arm to lower the flowers.

Unbeknownst to anyone, this was an unforeseen effect of the command he had been given.

Naruto had told Shino to do this and Shino agreed without question because he couldn't question. It sounded like fun and he was right. This was rather amusing. And yet, he couldn't stop once he got started. It wasn't because he was having too much fun to stop now. It was because he couldn't. Not without questioning why he was doing this in the first place, which also meant questioning Naruto, which was something he could not do.

When Naruto had given him the command, to Shino, it meant not questioning him mentally or verbally.

He couldn't lower his arm without mentally wondering why he had been doing this or if it was ok to lower his arm and stop doing what Naruto asked of him, because wondering also meant questioning. Being incapable of doing that meant he couldn't perform any action that would cause him to question his own actions resulting from anything Naruto told him to do.

This is why the signal never reached him. Shino's mind was far more complicated than Naruto anticipated. No two minds were alike. To someone else, this was overthinking the command and they would have been able to carry out the order perfectly. To Shino's mind, the command was too ambiguous. This was what halted him from making a free-willed decision when he should have been able to.

He could not stop what he was doing without questioning Naruto, which resulted in a stalemate. Shino would only be able to stop if Naruto told him to do so.

Naruto didn't realize just how big an issue this was, but he realized that this was a problem. He was able to realize that, unlike Neji, Shino was fully aware of what he was doing but was simply incapable of stopping. He could not wonder why without questioning Naruto, which he could not do. Knowing this, Naruto took pity on Shino and gave him a different command.

And just like many situations where Naruto only saw part of the problem, he made things worse.

"Shino, stop that."

Shino let his arm drop. Kiba swung from one branch to the next until he was out of sight.

"Come here a second."

Shino approached.

Naruto snapped his fingers. "Sleep."

Shino's head tipped forward slightly.

"Shino, whenever you hear a clang, like someone clanging a glass, you will hug the nearest person." He snapped his fingers. "Awake."

Shino lifted his head.

"Coming to dinner, Shino?" Naruto asked him.

"Yeah. I'm not sure where Kiba ran off to. He'll show up if he's hungry."

"I'll meet you there."

* * *

"Great! Everyone's here!" Choji said happily. "I just put in an order for salted beef while we wait for everyone to order."

"Thinking all the time, Choji." Leave it to Choji to order before everyone got a chance to arrive so the food would show up around the time everyone else gets the chance to browse through the menu. Everyone knew this was how Choji coped with having to wait for the main meal. Basically, this was the appetizer.

Choji looked around with a sad expression on his face. "Aw, Shikamaru didn't show up. I saved a seat for him and everything."

"He's doing some work at the Hokage building," said Ino. "I doubt he'll show up. He'll be busy for a while.

"Aw, man." Choji sighed. "Oh, well. We'll just have to make the most of it. Everybody, dig in when the food gets here. I'll just describe how it tasted to Shikamaru since he couldn't be here."

"To make him feel better or to tease him?" Naruto asked.

Choji shook his head. "To make him feel included. Meals are meant to be shared with people. It's bonding time. A time to eat, chat and hang out with friends. Even if Shikamaru can't be here even though he was invited, he still deserves to feel like he was a part of it. A part of our group."

Lee started sniffling. "A true testament to deep bonds. That was so moving, Choji!"

"Please," Ino said with a scoff. "You just want to relive this meal over and over again, and talking about it to him will have you tasting the food all over again."

"While that might also be true, I still meant what I said."

Naruto started to look over the menu. Though he had been here numerous times with friends, every now and then, he liked to get something different. He usually just picked the first thing that looked good to him without reading the whole menu. That changed the more they frequented the restaurant. Now he read the menu cover to cover.

He felt a tug on the menu and look to his right. Sai was eying him with a big smile. "What are you getting, Naruto?"

Naruto leaned away from him. "Uh… Well, I was thinking…"

"Whatever you get, I'll get it, too. You have the best taste."

Naruto leaned further away from him. "Well, sometimes I get the same thing Choji gets because he doesn't like to share if he can help it, and normally everyone gets something different and shares it. But if you're getting the same thing as me, I guess I don't have to do that this time since there'll be twice as much. I can order whatever."

Sai moved closer to Naruto. "You have the best ideas. You're so smart."

This admiration was going a bit too far now. Sai was becoming obsessive. More than before.

But he couldn't undo the command here in front of everybody, so it would have to wait until later. Hopefully there wouldn't be too many distractions this time.

"What are you getting, Naruto?" asked Sakura. "Same thing as Choji?"

"Nah. Sai said he'll order the same dish so I won't have to. I can get something different this time."

Sakura raised her brow at him. "How will that help? Sai will have the same thing as you and Choji will have his. Wouldn't it make more sense to have him order the same thing as Choji rather than you?"

Naruto blinked. "Dang it!"

"Completely slipped his mind," said Neji.

"Leave it to Naruto to overlook something so obvious," laughed Kiba.

Naruto waited for Shino to say something but he didn't. Having Shino not question him turned out to be a pretty good decision. Neji was acting normal, but that would all change if Naruto spoke his name out loud. He would hold off, of course. Now wasn't the time.

"I think I'll get…" Naruto paused as Sai moved closer to see what he was looking at on the menu. Naruto leaned away from him. "Sai, you order the same thing as Choji. I'll get the marinated short ribs."

Sai pleaded with his eyes. "Oh, but what you want to order sounds so good. I want to have it, too. I want the same thing as you, Naruto."

Naruto moved closer to hiss at him, "Sai, it would please me if you ordered the same thing as Choji. You want to make me happy, right?"

Sai's eyes sparkled. "Ohh, yes, I do..!" He nodded up and down. "Ok, I'll order the same thing as Choji."

"Thanks, Sai."

Sai was practically blushing as Naruto praised him. He was so happy to receive his praise.

"The yukhoe looks good, too," said Lee. "I think I will get that."

"An order of kalbi for me."

"Hey, they have a special on reimen."

"That's cold noodles," said Kiba. "Order something with meat in it, for crying out loud. Why else go to barbeque?"

"Is the waitress back? I know what I want."

Soon, everyone had placed their orders and were sitting around chatting while they waited. When the food arrived, everyone started grilling. Choji barely paid attention to the conversation, focusing all his attention on the grill. This was normal.

Naruto told Sai to grill the meat for him so he could talk with everyone without having to worry about burning anything. Sai was happy to do it. This seemed like a good idea… until the meat was finished cooking.

Sai held the meat out for Naruto with his chopsticks, only he wasn't trying to put it on Naruto's plate. He was trying to feed him.

"Stop that," Naruto hissed.

"Open wide. It's nice and juicy."

"Knock it off!"

Kiba started snickering when he saw this. "What's up with Sai? Is he the best you can do now?"

"What's that supposed to mean?" Naruto asked, his face turning red.

"I'm saying he can't do any better than you? That's great." He started laughing. "No, really. You two look cute together."

"It's not like that! Shut up, Kiba!"

Sai poked Naruto's cheek with the meat. "Say, 'ahh', Naruto."

"Stop it!"

"Aw!" cooed Kiba. "How romantic."

Naruto glared daggers at Kiba, then picked up a spoon, and clanged it against his glass of water.

Shino threw his arms around Kiba in a passionate hug.

Kiba stopped laughing at once.

They both looked at each other with wide eyes.

"What the hell are you doing, Shino?"

"S- sorry." Shino took his arms from around Kiba and put them at his sides.

At least this got the attention off Naruto and Sai.

Shino wasn't sure what happened. He wasn't in control of his actions.

"Why did you do that?"

"I… I don't know." Shino honestly hadn't a clue. His body just… reacted.

Naruto took the chopsticks away from Sai, snapped them in half and handed them back to him. He ate the grilled meat with his own pair and told Sai to just fill up his plate; not to feed him.

"Can we just get back to eating?" Ino asked.

"No way," said Kiba. "I want to know why Shino did that."

"I told you, I don't know why."

After being woken from his most recent trance, Shino's mind interpreted the first command he had been given differently than before. Almost like a reset. He still could not question Naruto. That part remained true, but now he was able to question his own actions. He just could not wonder if Naruto had something to do with this.

This was why he never considered that Naruto clanging the glass deliberately and him hugging Kiba were connected. It only happened once, so it was probably just a fluke.

The group tried to resume dinner, but it was very quiet for the next few minutes. The conversation picked up again and everything went back to normal.

Naruto knew not to overdo this because it would arouse suspicion. However, fun was fun. He would just have to be more discreet about it.

"How about we toast to another successful mission?" he declared. "How about it, Sakura? We never did celebrate when we came back the other day."

"We can't celebrate every mission. Besides, that one was easy."

"Please? Sai wants to, don't you, Sai?"

Sai nodded up and down. "Whatever Naruto wants."

Sakura rolled her eyes. "Fine." She raised her glass. "To another successful mission."

"Cheers!" Naruto clanged glasses with his friends.

At the same time, Shino hugged Kiba.

"Seriously, what is wrong with you?!"

"I don't know why I'm doing this."

"Well, stop it!"

Shino lowered his arms and sat quietly in his seat.

"Someone pass the soy sauce."

Naruto handed Kiba the soy sauce, making it clang against the side of his plate. Shino hugged Kiba again.

"Stop it!"

"I wish I could." He was not in control of himself. He just couldn't help it.

Naruto sat back down, grinning. He better not overdo this, no matter how fun it was.

"Anyone up for seconds?" Choji asked. "There's a whole pile of meat right here waiting to be cooked."

"I'll cook some," said Sai. "I'll give it extra attention since I'm cooking it for someone special."

Ino thought Sai was referring to her, but she was sadly mistaken and horrified when Sai gave the meat to Naruto instead.

Perhaps the meat wasn't cooked right. Yes, that must have been the reason why Sai gave it to Naruto. He burned it so Naruto deserved to have it. That must have been it.

"Would you like some of mine, Naruto?" Sai asked. "It's really good."

"Thanks, Sai. Just cook it and leave it over there. I'll get to it later."

"Ok."

Naruto moved closer to the others. "What have you guys been up to lately?"

"Just missions and training," said Neji.

"I've been so busy, I've hardly had time to do anything else," complained Tenten. "The last drill Gai-sensei had us go on lasted into the night so by the time I got to the store it was closed. I was looking forward to that new short sword they just got in, too. Shipped all the way from the Stone Village."

"Did you go back there and get it?" asked Ino.

"I did, but I had to get put on a waiting list because they're in such short supply. They only got a dozen."

"Isn't it first come, first serve?"

"Not in this case," she said. "Since it's a popular item, the owners decided to sell the few they have to those who pay a higher price."

"So it's a bid war?"

"That's how they're making a profit. If they sell the dozen they have for the written price, they'll only make so much money. If they have the last few sold in a bid war, then they'll get more money because we'll be going up from the sticker prize. I know it's not fair, but that's what the shop decided to do."

"Can they do that?"

"Yeah. I checked. They're not increasing the price themselves. It's the number of people who want it that make the price go up by offering more than what the sword's going for. The owners aren't doing anything wrong by accepting more money when the customer is offering it to them."

"Sounds about right," said Ino. "I went into a shop once and I had my eye on this cute outfit but it was the last one in stock and someone else wanted it, too. I offered to pay more than the other girl so I got it."

"Leave it to you to pay top dollar just to keep someone else from buying it."

"You're just jealous because I got it and you didn't, Sakura."

"So Sakura was the other girl in this story?"

"You sound surprised," muttered Neji.

"I had it in my hands and you snatched it from me! You know how much I wanted that outfit!"

"Then you should have brought more money!"

"I was there first! You only got it because you offered more and the greedy guy behind the desk was all too happy to get more out of it!"

"Then you see what I mean."

"It was nothing short of cheating!"

"Was not!"

"It was, too!" Sakura slammed her hands on the table and caused a couple of glasses to clang against some plates.

Shino hugged Kiba tightly.

"Shino, I'm going to punch you! I swear I will!"

"I'm not doing this on purpose."

Naruto reached for his bowl of rice only for Sai to get there first and hand it to him. "Uh, thanks." He reached for something else and Sai handed it to him with a smile.

"I had dibs on that outfit and you know it!"

"You did not! You walked in there, same as me!"

"How do you know? I could have seen it and saved up my money to get it and come back."

"It doesn't matter since I have it now."

"Because you took it from me!"

"Your name wasn't on it, forehead!"

Naruto leaned over to Sai. "Sai, tell Sakura…"

"I have it now, so shut up about it!" snapped Ino.

"It's the principal of the thing! I wanted it and you took it knowing that I had my eye on it!"

"It doesn't matter," said Sai. "You probably wouldn't have been able to fit into it anyway."

Everyone took their plates off the table and held them in their laps.

"What did you say, you jerk?! Cha!" Sakura stood up and punched Sai in the face. He tumbled backwards and lay flat on his back with a swollen cheek.

Sakura sat back down and everyone slowly put their plates back on to the table.

Naruto crawled out from under the table once Sakura sat back down. He had been sitting between the two of them and knew from experience that Sakura was willing to go through him to get to Sai. Now that it was safe to come out of hiding, Naruto took his seat and went back to eating.

Sai rubbed his cheek. "Ow…"

"It was your own fault," Naruto told him. "You could have chosen your words better."

Naruto had told Sai to say something to end the argument between Ino and Sakura. He should have been more specific. He should have known not to let Sai come up with what to say because it would probably come out wrong. And it did.

Sai didn't mind his stinging face. He grinned at Naruto and said, "I'm just glad you didn't get hurt, Naruto."

Naruto ignored him.

Sai cooked more meat and gave it to Naruto, telling him to eat up. Naruto let Sai do what he wanted.

The conversation had changed and the mood seemed to improve quickly. Now there was laughter and good-natured teasing. Lee tried to entertain the others by describing his latest training. Most of them were bored but let him talk anyway.

"You should see the tree," said Tenten. "It looks like an hourglass since he's been kicking it so often."

"Didn't he break a tree in half by kicking it during training?"

"That was a while ago, and it was a stump. Not a full tree."

"But he did break it in half, didn't he?"

"Yup. Soon this tree will break in half, too." Tenten snapped her fingers. "Just like that."

Sai dropped his chopsticks and slumped against Naruto.

"Sai, I…" Naruto was annoyed at first, then noticed that Sai was back in a trance. "How did..?"

Thinking back, Naruto realized that he only told Sai to go back into a trace when he heard someone snap. There was no verbal command, only an action. He had forgotten to give him both. However, he had given him both when it came to waking him up.

Naruto snapped his fingers. "Awake."

Sai opened his eyes and sat up.

"Naruto?"

"Nothing!" Naruto spun around. "What? Nothing!"

Sakura eyed him suspiciously. "What's going on over there?"

"Nothing. Nothing's going on."

She narrowed her eyes at him.

"What?" Naruto started to sweat.

Sai picked up his chopsticks and took some meat off the grill. When he set the plate down, it clanged against another, which, of course, caused Shino to hug Kiba.

"Dammit, Shino!" Kiba shoved him away. "That's it! Somebody switch seats with me!"

Kiba forced Neji to switch places with him. When he sat down again, Kiba bumped the table, causing a couple of glasses to bump into each other with a clang.

Shino hugged Neji.

Neji stiffened and looked at Shino out of the corner of his eye without a word.

Shino looked at him, silent.

"Um, Shino?"

"Yes?"

"Do you mind?"

"Sorry." Shino took his arms from around Neji.

Everyone went back to eating. Before long, someone else caused something to clang and Shino hugged Neji again, knocking the food from his chopsticks. Neji looked extremely annoyed and not just because Shino caused him to drop his food inches from his mouth.

"Can I help you?" he asked, darkly.

"Sorry." Shino lowered his arms again. He tried sitting on his hands but this made eating difficult.

Neji tried eating again, giving Shino a sideward glare as he did.

Naruto still thought it was funny but tried not to laugh.

"Pass that plate over here," said Choji. "I'll grill that up next."

"Ok." Hinata, who was sitting next to Neji, reached across him to hand the plate to the nearest person to pass down to Choji. Neji sat back to allow her more room, but this meant she was within Shino's reach.

As he moved to take the plate from her to pass down, the plate clanged against another plate. Shino leapt over Neji's lap and tackled Hinata in a fervent hug.

The plate fell and Hinata squeaked in surprise.

"The meat!" yelled Choji.

"Lady Hinata!" yelled Neji. He grabbed the back of Shino's coat and pulled. "Get off her!"

"Nobody panic," said Choji. "The meat landed on the table so it's still good."

"Are you alright, Hinata?" Shino and Neji asked her at once.

"I'm ok."

"What were you thinking?" Neji snapped.

"I… I didn't…"

"Didn't think? That's obvious."

"I'm sorry. I…"

"It's ok," said Hinata. "I'm fine so it's ok."

Shino moved away from the two of them. He didn't understand why this was happening to him. Why was he hugging everyone? It didn't make sense.

Neji helped Hinata back into her seat. He even served her some meat and refilled her water glass as a comforting gesture. He wanted her to feel better, but she honestly wasn't too upset by this. Neji seemed to be more upset than she was.

As Neji lowered the water jug, it clanged against a plate.

Neither were close to Shino this time. The closest person was the one directly across from him.

Shino flew across the table, reaching for Naruto with open arms.

"No! Shino, no! Wait!"

He tackled Naruto in a big hug, knocking over glasses and plates. Some water spilled onto the grill Choji was cooking on, causing a thick cloud of steam to shoot into his face.

"The meat!"

"Naruto!" Sai bent down to rescue him. "Are you alright?! Did the bug fanatic hurt you?"

"What'd you call me?"

"Get off!" Naruto screamed.

* * *

Please review! ^-^


	16. Ringing Bells

**Chapter 16: Ringing Bells**

It was certainly an interesting dinner. Naruto found most of it amusing, but there were other parts he found annoying. Mostly Sai's admiration and Shino's flying hug.

The next morning, Naruto tried to find some of his friends and change their commands. To what, he didn't know yet.

He found Kiba and Shino outside the park. Kiba was screaming and clinging to the stone entrance for dear life. "No! Don't make me go in there!"

Shino was pulling Kiba by his ankles, clearly fed up with his behavior. "I would normally leave you here, but we need you for this. Now get in here."

"I won't!"

Normally Shino wouldn't manhandle one of his teammates. Either Shino was really pissed off or it was a side effect of the hypnosis. Naruto, however, didn't think twice about it, certain that Shino was just pissed off.

Shino gave him another tug. "I will have my bugs infest your clothes, I swear I will."

"Stop it! I don't wanna!"

Naruto saw the flower bushes lining the stone walkway leading into the park and knew exactly why Kiba did not want to go in there. It was time to fix this pathetic phobia of his.

"Shino, I got this. Go ahead in."

Shino released Kiba's ankles and stepped away. "I will be waiting for you in the park with Hinata. Don't keep us waiting. We're already late."

Kiba sniffled and cling to the stone pillar. He would not go in.

Naruto rubbed his back. "It's ok, Kiba. It's ok."

"The park's covered in flowers. I can't go in there."

"It's ok." Naruto snapped his fingers. "Sleep."

Kiba let go of the stone and fell backwards. Naruto supported him with his arm.

"When you wake up, you will no longer be afraid of flowers. When you wake up, you will think you're a dog every time you hear a bell ring." He snapped his fingers. "Awake."

Kiba opened his eyes and stood up. "Shino already went in, didn't he?"

"Yup. He said he's waiting for you."

"Crap. I better get going. We'll talk later, Naruto." Kiba hurried into the park, barely noticing the flowers on his way in.

Naruto smirked and walked away.

* * *

After their training and their team meeting, Kiba and the rest of the group were free to do as they wished. Kiba decided to get a snack before anything else.

He spotted a convenience store and went inside for some jerky. The bell above the door rang the second he entered.

Kiba dropped to his hands and knees and started to pant. He trotted over to a rack of cookies and started sniffing them. He found the jerky and started to tear it open with his teeth.

Another customer entered, causing the bell to ring, snapping Kiba out of it. He returned to normal if he heard the bell a second time.

Kiba noticed the jerky in his hands and went to pay for it. After that, he opened the jerky and tossed the wrapper aside. He opened the door and heard the bell ring above it. He dropped to the ground, stuck the jerky in his mouth and ran down the street on all fours.

* * *

"Stay away from me!"

Naruto saw Shino chasing someone down the street with his arms outstretched. He was trying to hug them but the person wouldn't stop running.

Maybe he should undo this one, too.

Suddenly, Shino changed directions and tried to hug someone else, hearing another clang. Lee took a flying leap and embraced Shino, returning the hug.

"A passionate embrace to display feelings of friendship! I am honored, Shino!"

Shino cringed, and not just because Lee was hugging him too tight. "I'm not doing this by choice."

The two hugged each other in the middle of the street while people stared.

"I value our friendship, too, Shino!" Lee cried, clearly not hearing him. "I care for you, too! I am so happy that you are opening up to your feelings of love and friendship!"

POOF!

A wooden log took Shino's place and Lee hugged that. Shino was now on the other side of the street with a grimace on his face.

Lee spun around, realizing Shino had used a substitution. "Shino!"

Shino fled the area.

"Do not deny your feelings! I shall help you!" Before running after him, Lee paused, taking notice of Naruto. "Naruto, are you ill? Your face is red."

Naruto had been trying hard not to laugh, resulting in his face changing color. He shook his head, snickering. "No, all good."

"Ok." Lee started to chase after Shino. "Shino, my friend! Come back and let us explore these new feelings you have!"

Naruto held his ribs, laughing hysterically. He knew what Lee really meant, but the way he said it and the looks he was receiving made it hilarious. If only Lee could hear himself. Maybe then he could understand that it came out all wrong.

This gave Naruto a new target. He didn't want to use hypnosis on Lee because he was funny enough as he was, but now he was getting some fun ideas. He wouldn't change him too much, but he would make sure he got more laughs out of him.

Naruto raced to catch up with him. The only thing he was concerned about was the fact that Lee had a habit of fighting in his sleep. He was a violent sleepwalker. If he put Lee into a trace, would he end up fighting him without knowing? Naruto knew he was taking a chance, but the laughs were worth the risk.

"Hey, Lee! Wait up!"

Lee stopped in the middle of his search. "Yes, Naruto?"

Naruto looked around to make sure they were alone. "Take a look at something real quick for me."

"Sure."

He didn't have to disguise what he was doing since Lee was already kind of dense. Even if Naruto told him flat out what he was doing, Lee would probably be ok with it. If anything, he might consider it a new kind of training.

Naruto pulled out the necklace. "Look at this."

Lee looked at the jewel as Naruto swung it back and forth. Within a matter of seconds, Lee's eyes started to get cloudy. He was really easy to put under.

"You're getting sleepy…" Naruto told him. "Sleepy…"

Lee's eyes started to droop.

"Getting sleepy… Getting sleepy…"

Lee closed his eyes and his head dipped forward. He remained on his feet, which was good for Naruto. He was worried Lee would attack him if he got any closer than this.

"When I snap my fingers and say the word 'sleep', you will go back into a trace and do anything I say. When I snap my fingers and say 'awake', you will wake up from your trance."

Lee drooled.

Naruto put the necklace away and snapped his fingers. "Awake."

Lee opened his eyes. "What did you want to show me?"

"Oh, never mind. I thought I saw Shino head that way." He pointed in a random direction.

"Shino! It is alright to express your feelings among friends!" Lee ran off.

Naruto would give him a command later.

* * *

"Shino! Do not be afraid! I only wish to help you!"

"Bark! Bark!"

Lee stopped and looked down. Kiba was barking at him like a dog.

"Kiba?"

"Bark!"

"What are you doing?"

Kiba just barked and panted.

"Perhaps this is Akamaru in Kiba's form?"

Kiba barked again and ran off on all fours.

"Where are you going?" Lee chased after him.

Kiba led Lee out of the trees and back into the shopping area of the village. People walking by gave Kiba strange looks. Lee chased after him, calling his name. Kiba didn't stop. He kept running, wanting Lee to chase him. It was a game to him. He wanted to be chased.

He didn't stop until someone at the front desk of a store rang the bell on the counter for service. Kiba got to his feet and started walking.

"Kiba!"

He turned around. "Oh, hey, Lee. What's up?"

Lee looked around. "Was that you or Akamaru I had been chasing?"

"Chasing?"

"Yeah. From there over to here. Running."

"It couldn't have been me. I wasn't running." Kiba had no idea what had happened. He had no memory of the event while he thought he was a dog.

"Oh." Lee shrugged. "It must have been Akamaru, then."

Kiba raised his brow. "You can't tell the difference between me and Akamaru? One of us has fur and runs on four legs."

"I know," said Lee. "The person I was chasing after was on four legs."

"Person?" Kiba was very confused.

"It must have been Akamaru transformed into you."

"Why would he be..?"

"Oh, yes!" Lee suddenly remembered. "I must find Shino. Farewell, Kiba!"

Kiba was confused, but he chalked it up to Lee being Lee and carried on as usual.

* * *

When Kiba arrived home, he found Akamaru waiting for him on the porch. He gave the dog a good scratch behind the ear and went to get him something to eat. His mother was working on something in the kitchen so there wasn't much of a conversation.

He placed a bowl of food in front of Akamaru and sat beside him as he ate. He basked in the sun, listening to his dog chew his food.

Then a timer went off inside the house.

Hearing the bell ding, Kiba crouched beside Akamaru and nudged him aside. Akamaru backed up and watched, confused, as Kiba began eating from his bowl. He gave a questioning whine as Kiba ate the dog food without so much as a word.

Something was wrong with his human friend.

* * *

The wait for Gaara is almost over.

Please review! ^-^


	17. Visitor

**Chapter 17: Visitor**

"Is it just me, or is something going on in the village?" asked Ino.

"Dinner last night tip you off on that?" said Sakura. "Yeah, something's up."

"You said before that Naruto had been acting suspiciously when Sai was acting strange," Ino told her. "We thought it was because he was trying to hide the fact that he had done something to Sai. Which was possible. Then last night, Shino starts hugging people."

"Mostly Kiba."

"You think Naruto had something to do with that?"

Sakura sighed. "I thought he did, but then Shino hugged Naruto. Naruto obviously didn't see that coming and didn't want it. If he did do something to Shino for kicks, he wouldn't have let something like that happen. I don't think he's involved anymore. Not if he's being tormented, too."

"You're right. Look at the one who isn't being harassed and they're probably the one responsible."

Sakura sighed again. "Gaara's supposed to be showing up today. Let's hope the craziness is at an end by the time he shows up."

"Get it all out of their system before then, right?"

"That's the idea."

* * *

Naruto found Neji and Lee having a conversation. Lee kept pointing in another direction and Neji looked irritated. Lee must have been telling him about Shino and how he wanted to help him.

"Hey, guys," Naruto greeted.

"Hello again, Naruto."

Neji nodded his head. "What are you up to?"

"Oh, not much. Taking a break from training, Lee?"

He shook his head. "I am still trying to find Shino but he is a worthy advisory. Very good at hiding, like a true ninja. I have not given up my search, but I really must get back to training. Will you join me?"

"Not now. I was actually going to be doing something with Neji."

Upon hearing his name, Neji's eyes glazed over and his shoulders slumped.

"Ok, then I will be off. Feel free to join me when you are able." Lee vanished.

Naruto turned to Neji. "Come back to my place with me. I have work for you."

They started to go to Naruto's apartment, but then Sai showed up with a gleeful look on his face. Naruto moaned.

"I found you! Leave it to the best ninja in the world to evade me so," Sai gushed. "What can I help you with today, sir? I'm ready and able."

"Go, uh… find Sakura for me."

"I'm on it, sir!" Sai raced off.

"That should keep him busy for a while. Now, back at my place, I want you to…"

"Naruto! I found her!"

Naruto quickly shoved Neji into an alley. He couldn't let Sakura see him in such a state.

"That was quick."

Sai dragged Sakura over to Naruto by the wrist. "Here she is!"

"Goody. Thanks, Sai."

Sakura gave them both annoyed looks. "So what's going on? What did you need me for?"

"Uh…" Naruto actually had no reason for Sai to fetch her. He just wanted to keep him busy and asking him to find Sakura was the first thing that popped into his mind.

"I'm pretty busy today, Naruto. I don't have time to mess around."

"Why? What are you up to?"

Sakura was going to give him a curt answer, but she knew how much Naruto cared about Gaara, so she decided to give him the good news with a smile.

"We have someone special coming to the village today," she said with a grin.

"Yeah? Who?"

She couldn't wait to see the look on Naruto's face when she told him. "Gaara."

Naruto's face lit up. "Gaara's coming? Here? To the Leaf Village?"

"Yup!" She had to admit that Naruto's joyful expression was kind of cute. He looked like a puppy dog playing with a new toy. "He's coming here on business. He has a meeting this evening with the Hokage. He should be arriving anytime now."

"This is great! I haven't seen him in so long. I can't wait to hang out with him."

Sakura didn't want to crush his hopes but she had to put emphasis on the fact that Gaara was here on business before Naruto made too many plans.

"He's here for a meeting, Naruto. Didn't you hear me when I said that he was here on business?"

Naruto had already started making plans when she said this. "Huh? But… aside from the meeting, he'll have time to hang out and stuff, right? The meeting's not until evening, right?"

"You'll have to take it up with him," she said. "I'm sure he's busy, but he might have time or make time for you if you let him know you want to hang out for a bit."

Naruto grinned. He couldn't wait to see him. The earlier Gaara got to the Leaf, the more time they could spend together. They had the whole afternoon to waste until the meeting.

He felt something brush against him and looked to find Sai pressing close to him.

"Will you get away from me?" he hissed.

"I thought we could spend the day together," he purred. "You can show off your jutsu for me and I won't get mad. I'd love to see you in action."

Naruto covered Sai's mouth with his hand before Sakura could hear anymore. But Sai kept talking. Naruto could feel his jaw moving up and down under his palm and felt Sai's lips rubbing against his flesh. Unable to take it anymore, Naruto pulled his hand away and wiped it off on his pants.

"Please let me hang out with you!" Sai begged. "I promise I won't be a bother. I won't get in the way like she will." He pointed at Sakura.

"What?" Sakura's eye twitched.

"He- he didn't mean that!" Naruto wedged himself between them.

"Yes, I do. She's kind of a pain, like I've been saying."

To Sai, Sakura was very annoying. He wanted to spend time with Naruto and she was only getting in the way. She even bothered Naruto's dinner last night, arguing about clothes. In truth, he found everyone who got near Naruto to be annoying. He wanted Naruto's undivided attention and everyone was getting in the way of that.

He had been trying to tell Naruto this, but his hand was in the way. Naruto pulled his hand away at the worst time, when Sai was complaining about Sakura. Neither heard his other complaints about the other people getting between them.

As a result, Sakura took her anger out on both of them. She was aiming for Sai but Naruto got in the way of her punch, so she ended up hitting both of them in a blind fury.

* * *

Naruto moaned, sitting on the floor of his apartment with a throbbing shoulder.

After being smacked, he ordered Sai to go somewhere else and he would come find him. Sai obeyed, but for how long? This admiration drove Sai to be near Naruto at all times. Even being ordered to stay away from him wasn't enough to keep him away for long. He would obey, then come back in a few minutes when his longing became too much.

"I really should reverse this." Naruto rubbed his shoulder. "Hey, Neji, could you help me out?"

Neji, who had followed him, turned around.

"Do you think you can pop my shoulder back in or rub it or something? It won't stop hurting."

Neji sat behind Naruto and began to rub his shoulder for him. He moved Naruto's arm up and down and rubbed it some more. He gave Naruto's arm a squeeze, rubbed it and moved away.

Naruto moved his arm up and down without any pain. "Wow, that's amazing. You're good at this."

Neji sat quietly.

Naruto stood up. "I'm going to keep an eye out for Gaara. Neji, you stay here, ok?"

Neji did not respond which Naruto took as compliance.

He left the apartment and went in the direction of the main gate. If he stayed in that area, he should be able to see Gaara arrive if he hadn't already.

He was on his way to the gate when he saw a tuft of red hair. He stopped and went back. He looked and saw three people, but the third one was hidden behind their bodies. Naruto waited until they moved to be certain. When they did, he saw the redhaired boy with dark rings around his eyes.

It was Gaara.

Naruto was so happy to see him.

"Gaara!" Naruto jogged across the street to meet him. "Hey, what's up?"

Gaara turned around and gave Naruto a small smile. "It's been a while, Naruto. How are you?"

"I'm doing great. How about you? You look good."

"Thanks."

Before Gaara could say anything else, his brother did the speaking for him. "Gaara's really busy today, so he doesn't have time for chitchat."

"Who put you in charge?" asked Naruto.

"I've been assigned to watch him as one of his bodyguards. So there."

"That doesn't put you in charge of him."

The second bodyguard defended Kankuro. "We're also in charge of making sure the Kazekage stays on schedule. We cannot have him miss his meeting with your Hokage."

"I heard it wasn't until this evening," said Naruto.

"Doesn't matter," said Kankuro. "We still have to make sure he gets there on time. We already checked in at the gate, but we still have to check in other places beforehand. Like at the hotel we're staying at."

"Sounds to me that your work is already half done. And Gaara doesn't have to be there when you check in at the hotel. You can do that. And there's still a long time before the meeting. He can chitchat if he wants."

"Not if it makes us late to the meeting," Kankuro growled.

"He won't be late," argued Naruto.

"I don't think I can trust you to make sure he won't be, which is why I'm here. If he talks to you, it'll put us behind schedule."

"You're saying I'm not responsible?"

"Your chatting has already wasted several minutes of our time."

"But you're the one talking."

Gaara stood silently as the two bickered.

"It's been so long since I last saw Gaara. It'd be a shame to not spend some time with him. I was looking forward to seeing him and hanging out together," Naruto complained. "Come on. He can't come all this way and just go to a boring meeting. He should have some fun, too. Visit friends. Stuff like that."

That did sound like fun. Gaara couldn't remember the last time he socialized. It was a long journey to get here from the Sand Village. He needed time to decompress. Besides, what were they going to do for the next few hours? Wait until the meeting, maybe go over a few notes. He could decompress during his wait, but being with a friend sounded like much better company. Naruto seemed so eager to see him, too. He couldn't disappoint him.

"I'm not letting Gaara out of my sight," Kankuro growled.

"Then hang out with us."

"There's work to be done."

"Not until later. Let me hang out with my friend. He should see his friends once in a while, don't you think?"

"He doesn't have time for that. Being the Kazekage is hard work. It's a busy job. He can't just hang out. Not unless it's at a meeting, and even then, there's business going on."

"I thought you were the loose and cool guy, Kankuro. What happened to you?"

"I have a responsibility. I'm on the clock. I can't mess around."

After Gaara had been kidnapped and killed, Kankuro became a lot more serious about his bodyguard duties. Gaara had been captured on his watch. He couldn't let that happen again. If it meant staying by his side at all times, then so be it.

"It's just for a little while. He'll be back in time for the meeting. Let him have some fun."

"It's work. Not fun. He can't-"

"Enough," said Gaara and the two quieted. "I believe I have a say in what I do."

"Of course you do, Lord Kazekage," said the second bodyguard. "What will you do, sir?"

Naruto was giving him a pleading look. Kankuro was very tense. Gaara didn't want to disappoint either of them, but he did have some time before the meeting. It seemed silly to wait in a hotel room until it was time to attend. He could be spending that time in the company of a good friend. If he timed everything right, he could do both. He could hang out with Naruto for a little while, then do as Kankuro wanted and stay in the hotel and go over some notes.

Gaara folded his arms. "It is a rare opportunity to see Naruto. I'll spend some time in his company. Since we will be together, he will be like a third bodyguard. Afterword, I will return to the hotel with Kankuro with plenty of time before the meeting. I believe that's fair enough."

Naruto beamed at him and gave Kankuro a smug look.

"Are you sure, Gaara?" Kankuro asked him.

"Yes." Looked at Kankuro out of the corner of his eye. "Allow me a little time with my friend."

The way Gaara phrased it made it sound like he was asking permission rather than giving an order.

Kankuro sighed. "Alright, Gaara. I'll see you in a bit." He looked at the other bodyguard. "We have work to do in the meantime."

"Right."

Naruto and Gaara walked side by side down the street.

"They sure are strict with you, aren't they?"

"They have to be," said Gaara. "I am the Kazekage now. I don't have much time to do social things. Or have time to myself."

"Well, all that's about to change," declared Naruto. "It's about time you did something fun with all the work you do on a regular basis. Come back to my place and let's have some fun."

* * *

Gaara's here!

Please review! ^-^


	18. Gaara

**Chapter 18: Gaara**

Naruto brought Gaara back to his apartment. He looked forward to spending some time with his friend, but he knew it was going to be difficult. Kankuro was pretty adamant about not letting Gaara out of his sight. He also kept reminding him of all the work he had to do today. If Gaara hadn't opened his mouth, Naruto might never have gotten Gaara here.

Naruto took off his shoes and tossed them aside while Gaara took care to set them down neatly. Naruto was eager to show Gaara around and have some fun, but right away he could tell that it was hard for Gaara to separate business from pleasure. Even just coming into his home, Gaara treated it like business. Everything from the way he put his shoes down to the way he carried himself inside.

"You know this is a social visit, right?" Naruto asked him. "There's no need to be so proper."

"Sorry." Gaara didn't seem it. He looked around the apartment, observing everything around him. "I don't get many social visits. No one really invites me anywhere so I'm not sure how to act."

"Oh." Naruto felt bad for him. Gaara didn't have a lot of practice when it came to simply hanging out. Interacting with people was foreign to him. Naruto imagined that such a thing would leave someone in his position a little shy and nervous. But Gaara was pretty fearless, so Naruto wasn't sure what to expect.

The more he watched Gaara stand in one place until he was given permission to move, the more he started to understand. This was how Gaara conducted himself in these situations. He didn't know how to act socially so he acted the way he was told during business meetings. But knowing this wasn't business resulted in Gaara simply keeping his hands to himself and allowed himself to be led around by his host.

In light of this, Naruto knew Gaara needed help.

"You never hung out with people socially, have you?"

"I think that's pretty well established," he answered.

"Well, you can loosen up here. We're friends."

"Yes, but I don't know how to do that. I don't know what friends do. The proper etiquette and all that." Gaara had watched children interact with each other all his life, but all he ever did was watch. He was never invited to join. Naruto was his first friend. He didn't want to mess things up. "I don't want to make a mistake."

Naruto pitied him. Naruto could be socially awkward, too, but at least he had practice dealing with people. Gaara did not. Who was to say he would have been any better if their positions had been switched? Naruto wanted to help him.

"You don't have to be worried about making a mistake," he said. "I'm not going to judge. Besides, I know it took you a long time to make friends. I'm not going to blow up on you. Part of being friends is understanding each other and helping one another. You really think I would kick you out or get mad at you over a little thing?"

"No, I suppose not."

"Then take it easy and relax. I never get to see you, so this is exciting. I can't wait to show you around the place."

It wasn't much of a tour. The apartment was rather small. Gaara kept his mouth shut, stepping around piles of discarded ramen containers and dirty clothes. It didn't take long for the filth to pile up again. Thankfully it was just in one area of the place. The other rooms were a lot cleaner.

"And this is my bedroom- Ahh!" Naruto jumped back, startled to find someone sitting in there. "Oh, yeah, I forgot about you."

Gaara peered over Naruto's shoulder and saw Neji sitting in the bedroom as if waiting for them.

"I left him in here," Naruto explained. "It's ok. He won't bother us."

Gaara saw the blank expression on Neji's face and had to ask, "Is he alright?"

"Him? Yeah, he's cool."

Naruto showed him into the bedroom and went down a list of what they could do. He pulled out a deck of cards and said they could play a quick game. Gaara eyed Neji up and down as he watched them calmly. He seemed to be observing them, but Gaara knew this wasn't a natural state for the Hyuga. Something was up.

He tried to ignore him when Naruto came over to the small wood table with some games. He didn't have much. He tried to interest Gaara in a card game, but he didn't know how to play any. Naruto offered to teach him.

Naruto noticed that Gaara hadn't taken the gourd off his back since they arrived. He also noticed that Gaara seemed a bit restless. He tried to rush through the explanation, but Gaara seemed very distracted. He looked at the clock several times. When they started the game, Gaara seemed torn between playing and looking at the clock.

A quarter through the game, Gaara gave the clock a disappointed look. "Maybe I should get going."

"But you've only been here for twenty minutes," Naruto whined.

"I'm sorry. I don't want Kankuro to get flustered. I do have work later today."

"But that's hours away."

"He'll probably want me to go over a few things before the meeting. He gets nervous when I'm out of his sight during things like this. It's his job as my escort to look after me. He didn't even want me to come here. I wanted to spend some time with you, but I just can't enjoy myself worrying about what he's going to say and if I'm taking too long or if I'm even doing it right."

"Don't worry about all that," Naruto told him. "You're working a lot, so you could use a break now and then."

"That's true." Gaara sighed. "I do work a lot. All the time. I knew I needed a break, so that's why I came here when you offered. I wanted to spend time with you, too. But now that I'm here, all I can think about is all the work I have to do. I can't get it off my mind. That's part of why I'm so stressed."

"Stressed?"

"Yes. I work so much, I can't wait to take a break. I want to take it easy. But when I do, all I can think about is the stuff I need to work on. I just can't get it off my mind. It's frustrating. I want to be social but all I can think about is work so I can't enjoy myself."

"You need balance in your life, Gaara."

"I know I do. But I don't know how." He rubbed his shoulder where the strap to his gourd was digging in.

Poor Gaara. He needed help. It wasn't good to be this stressed. It was wearing him out.

That got Naruto thinking.

"I can help you relax a bit. That way you're less stressed for your meeting tonight and you'll do a lot better. If you're too stressed, your meeting won't go well and stress isn't good of anybody. I'll help you out by taking your stress away."

"How are you going to do that?" Gaara asked, intrigued.

"Well, for starters, you can take that gourd off your back."

"My gourd?" Gaara turned his head to look at the thing slung over his shoulder.

"Yeah, carrying all that weight can't be good for your back and shoulders."

"I have it with me most of the time so I don't really notice it."

"You don't need it right now. You're here on social terms. There's not a battle going on or anything, so you can take it off."

"Well… Alright." Gaara hesitantly removed the strap from his shoulder and slid the gourd off his back. It hit the floor with a loud thunk. Naruto guessed it must have weighed about as much as Gaara did. Maybe more.

"Great. How's that feel?"

Gaara shrugged his shoulder and turned his neck from side to side. "Different, I guess."

"I've seen you take the thing off before. You don't wear it at your desk."

"True, but I still know where it is." Like his old teddy bear, his gourd was a security object. It comforted him. Considering the fact that it was one of his greatest weapons, how could he not feel secure with it so close to him? As long as he had it, he had this sense of invincibility.

"You know where it is here, too. It's right behind you."

"I suppose."

Naruto got up from the table. "Stand up for me, would you?"

Gaara stood up. Naruto motioned for him to turn around and he did. Naruto gave one of his shoulders a squeeze and Gaara flinched. "What are you doing?" he asked, spinning around.

"Your shoulders are so tense!" Naruto was amazed. "They're like rocks."

"You sure that's not muscle?"

"Muscles get tense." Naruto had an idea. "Have you ever had a massage before?"

Gaara shook his head.

"Not ever?"

"Never had one."

Naruto clapped his hands together. "Then you are in for a treat." He turned his head. "Neji, stand up. Gaara sit here."

Gaara was reluctant.

"Come on! Sit!" Naruto was smiling.

"Mm… Alright." Gaara took his time sitting down. He seemed very nervous. "What do I do now?"

"Just sit there. Neji will handle the rest. He gives really good massages."

"But I've never…"

"You're going to now. They're very relaxing."

"Um…"

"Trust me."

Gaara did trust Naruto. He was also curious. No one ever gave him a massage before so he wasn't sure what to expect. Apparently, people liked them. He was willing to give it a shot. Nothing ventured, nothing gained.

Neji stood beside the cushioned chair Gaara was sitting in. He would only listen to Naruto.

Naruto was still deciding what to do first. If Gaara had to carry all that weight on his back, his shoulders undoubtedly needed it. But walking around supporting not only his own weight but the weight of the gourd told Naruto that Gaara's legs were also in need of some relief.

"Ok, Neji. Give Gaara a massage. Start with his feet first."

Neji bent down. He picked up one of Gaara's legs and supported it on his knee. Gaara watched with uncertainty as Neji grabbed his foot with both hands. He squeezed, pressing his fingers into Gaara's skin.

"Ouch!" Gaara pulled his leg off Neji's knee.

"Gaara, let him do it."

"But it hurt. People like this?"

"It gets better. Trust me. Please?"

Gaara sighed and reluctantly surrendered his leg. Gaara tensed up when Neji continued. He squeezed his foot and Gaara grit his teeth and shut his eyes.

"Ow… Ow… Ah! Ah! Ah…" Gaara grew less tense and started to unclench his jaw. His groans of pain soon turned to groans of delight. He loosened his grip on the chair and sat back in his seat.

Seeing Gaara visibly relax, Naruto smiled. "How's it feel?"

"It's not bad."

Neji started on Gaara's other leg and Gaara shut his eyes, enjoying it. Naruto then told Neji to work on Gaara's shoulders. Neji walked behind the chair and started to knead Gaara's shoulders with both hands. Gaara let out a moan, melting into the chair.

"That does feel good," he muttered.

The massage went on for a while. Gaara closed his eyes lazily and didn't say a word. When Neji was finished, he stepped back and Naruto told him to rest in the other room. Neji left.

"How do you feel?" Naruto asked Gaara.

He opened his eyes. "That felt really good." He started to sit up. He stretched, causing his joints to pop, and he rubbed his neck. "That's a huge difference. My body feels… It feels lighter."

"See? I knew the massage would do the trick."

Gaara looked around for the clock. "It's a few hours before my meeting still, but I should probably go."

"What? No!" Now that Gaara had finally loosened up, he wanted to leave? Naruto couldn't let him. Not now that he finally got Gaara in a good position. He thought they could finally have a good time and socialize.

"I don't really need to and I certainly don't want to, but I don't think Kankuro would…"

"He's fine and you need a break from all that work. Now that you're relaxed, you want to go out there and stress yourself out again?"

"I don't want to, but…"

Naruto had to do it. He wanted to anyway. As long as Gaara was mellowed out from that massage, it should be a lot easier.

"Before you go, can I show you something?"

Gaara didn't mind. He didn't want to go anyway. "What is it?"

"Come over here. To the bed."

Gaara stood up and started walking the short distance to the bed, but staggered a little bit. His legs felt like mush. Maybe that massage relaxed him a bit too much. With Naruto's help, he made it over to the bed and sat down facing Naruto.

If this was the only way he could spend time with Gaara, then so be it. He needed to relax anyway. This wasn't really exploiting Gaara. It was helping him.

"Look here." Naruto pulled out the necklace.

Gaara looked at the sparkling jewel. It was lovely. He wasn't sure why Naruto was showing him this. He liked looking at it, though. The way it twinkled so prettily, the light causing the jewel to cast tiny rainbows; it was hard to resist.

Then Naruto started to spin it. It was harder to study its details now, but it became a lot more interesting to look at. Like the licking flames of a bonfire or the twinkling of a babbling brook under the sun. Or the way waves stretched to the hot beach sand and retreated back into the ocean.

It was… hypnotic.

"Just relax," Naruto told him in a soothing voice. "Just relax."

He was relaxed. Gaara couldn't remember a time when he was so relaxed. This tranquility was long overdue. He embraced it avidly, wanting more. He felt so at peace.

"Your eyes are getting heavy," Naruto told him.

His words seemed to cradle him. Gaara felt like he could trust Naruto completely.

"You're feeling sleepy… Very sleepy… You're getting sleepier… And sleepier…"

Naruto's voice enveloped him. His words seemed to rock him gently back and forth. Back and forth. It was so soothing. So comforting. He felt so relaxed.

"You're falling into a very deep sleep…"

This feeling was wonderful. He let his body slump, giving in to the wonderful feeling. His body was starting to go numb. His limbs felt heavy.

Just as Gaara's eyes were beginning to droop, Gaara picked himself up, blinking. He was just about to fall into a trance, but broke himself free. Naruto could see that Gaara was resisting so he tried harder to get him under.

"It's alright… Just relax… Relax…"

Gaara's eyes started to droop again. He lifted his hand up and rubbed his eyes. "I'm starting to feel a little…" he mumbled sleepily. He was starting to fall under Naruto's spell but a part of him still resisted.

"You're alright, Gaara… You're alright…"

Gaara lowered his arm and continued to stare at the jewel. He watched it spin, his eyes following it lazily. Gaara let out a yawn. He dimly wondered what time it was. All his thoughts were growing faint. Was this normal? It was nice not the think, but wasn't there something he was supposed to do? What was he forgetting?

"Let your mind go blank for a while," came Naruto's soothing voice. It put him at ease. "It's alright... It's ok... Just relax."

Gaara yawned again, feeling a lot sleepier. It was so hard to keep his eyes open. His head was starting to bob.

"Relax… Relax…"

"My… My eyelids won't stay open…" Gaara mumbled.

"That's ok… You're just tired… Your eyes are getting very heavy… So heavy… You're getting sleepy… Sleepy…"

Gaara's head bobbed again. If he relaxed any further than this…

"Sleepy… Sleepy…"

He liked this feeling so much.

"Your whole body is so relaxed…"

It was. It really was.

"Feel all the stress leave your body… Feel the tension leave your toes… Your feet… Your legs… All the way up to your shoulders… Feel the stress leave your body… You feel so much better now…"

He did feel a lot better. All the pain and stress was gone. Every ache and pain was a thing of the past. He felt so good. His whole body felt so good.

"A warm, pleasant feeling is filling you up... Your whole body feels warm... Warm and comfortable…"

He felt as if he were wrapped in a soft blanket. He felt so secure.

"You're safe… You're calm… and relaxed…"

He was safe. He was calm. He felt so relaxed. It was so hard for him to keep his eyes open. He felt so sleepy.

"Relax… You're getting sleepy… You're feeling sleepy… Sleepy… Sleepy…"

Gaara's body was beginning to slump. He couldn't stay awake for much longer.

He felt so at peace. He was so tired.

Gaara gave Naruto a sleepy look. "Your eyes are really pretty…" he mumbled. "So blue…" He looked at the jewel again and his eyes drooped a little more.

"Just relax… and sleep…" Naruto's voice was a lot softer now. "Go to sleep…"

Naruto's words seemed to caress him, lulling him to sleep. He couldn't fight the urge anymore. The invitation was too good to resist. Such temptation…

"Go to sleep, Gaara… Just close your eyes… and sleep…"

He finally gave in to the soft darkness. Gaara closed his eyes.

"Sleep… Close your eyes… and sleep… Relax and sleep…"

Gaara's head tipped forward, causing his body to do the same. Naruto put the jewel back under his jacket and caught Gaara before he fell. He let Gaara rest in his arms. He thought he felt Gaara stir, so he stroked the back of his head and repeated the word 'sleep' over and over again. Gaara relaxed with a sigh. He treated Naruto's chest as a pillow, lulled by Naruto's soothing heartbeat and his words.

It took a long time to get Gaara into a trance. Naruto assumed it was because he hadn't been able to sleep in the past so he had become accustomed to fighting off the urge.

He thought of all those long sleepless nights Gaara must have had to endure. All those years he spent alone, longing for friendship. It seemed like ages for Naruto during his childhood, but at least he could escape into his dreams. Since he couldn't sleep, the crushing loneliness must have felt like an eternity for Gaara. The pain must have gone on much longer for him.

Now that he didn't have the tailed-beast inside him anymore, Gaara was free to enjoy slumber, but again, old habits die hard. A part of him must have still been afraid to sleep, worried about what might happen if he did.

Naruto felt so sorry for him. As much as he suffered, Gaara must have suffered a lot more.

He looked down at the boy sleeping on his chest. He looked so peaceful. This was a sleep he could enjoy. A sleep without fear or pain. A deep, restful slumber.

Before he had some fun, Naruto was going to do him a favor. He needed it.

"Gaara, can you hear me?" he asked gently.

Gaara nodded into his chest.

"When I snap my fingers and say 'sleep', you will fall back into a trance, only it will be far deeper than before and even more soothing. When I snap my fingers and say 'awake', you will wake up from your trance and not remember being hypnotized. Do you understand?"

Gaara nodded again.

He had to make sure it worked. Naruto snapped his fingers. "Awake."

Gaara shifted slightly but his eyes remained closed. Then he started to come around. He opened his eyes and realized he was on Naruto's chest. He sat up and gave Naruto a sleepy look. "What happened?" he asked.

"I guess that massage really wore you out, huh?"

"Oh. I guess." Gaara sat back on the bed, rubbing the back of his neck. "I feel kind of strange. Like my mind… I don't know how to put it. My brain just feels kind of foggy."

"Oh, that's fine. It's ok." Naruto knew having that massage would help Gaara relax a lot more. It really helped him put Gaara into a trance. It was hard enough to do while he was still mellow. If he had jumped right to it without the massage, it might have been nearly impossible.

"What time is it?" he asked. Gaara was still fixed on his duties, even though the actual event was hours away.

"There's one more thing I want to do to help you relax."

"What's that?"

Naruto snapped his fingers. "Sleep."

Gaara's body went limp and he started to fall over. Naruto reach out and grabbed Gaara with one arm. He slowly lowered Gaara to the bed. As soon as his head hit the pillow, Gaara started snoring.

"Gaara, you are going to fall into a very deep sleep. A very restful sleep. You will only be asleep for ten minutes, but when you wake up, you will feel rested and energized." Naruto snapped his fingers. "Awake."

Gaara opened his eyes, then closed them again, falling asleep just as Naruto instructed. He snuggled into the pillow and curled up. Naruto wanted to cover him with a blanket, but Gaara's legs and body were on top of it. He seemed pretty comfortable without it so Naruto let him be.

He needed his rest. Being the Kazekage must have been very taxing on him, so Naruto wanted Gaara to get some rest and rejuvenate.

"Sweet dreams, Gaara," Naruto whispered as he moved away from the bed.

* * *

Please review! ^-^


	19. Sweet

**Chapter 19: Sweet**

Naruto knew Neji was still in the other room, but he didn't want to send him home in case he needed him. He was starting to have second thoughts. Maybe he should send him home. Gaara would wake up soon and he really wanted to spend some time with him.

Naruto went into the other room where Neji was sitting on the couch. He looked up when Naruto approached. "Neji, I want you to go home and act normally until I call you."

Neji stood up and left the apartment. Now Naruto was free to do as he pleased.

He went back into the bedroom to discover Gaara still fast sleep. Naruto sat on the floor and waited. Only a few more minutes.

As Naruto flicked cards into an empty bowl, Gaara started to shift. Naruto stopped what he was doing and watched as Gaara sat up, stretching and yawning. He looked like he had just woken up from a restful sleep.

"Good morning, Gaara. Have a nice nap?"

Gaara was still stretching. He arched his back with a groan. Then he slumped forward and ruffled his hair. "I can't remember a time I slept so well. That felt great."

"How do you feel now?"

"I still feel great." Gaara swung his legs over the side of the bed, ready to get up. "I haven't felt this good in ages. I feel so refreshed."

"Great! Glad to hear it. Hey, we still have time to do stuff if you want to hang out more."

"I'd love to. Hm… Maybe I should get back to Kankuro…"

"Ah, forget about him. Hey, you hungry?"

At the mention of food, Gaara put Kankuro out of his mind and got up. "Yes, actually."

"I'll show you what I have. Come into the kitchen."

Naruto showed Gaara into the kitchen and started opening cupboards. Most of it was ramen and more instant meals. He also had some jars of peanut butter and crackers. Gaara stood behind him as he rummaged through what he had on hand. Naruto insisted on doting on Gaara, telling him that he was a guest and therefore didn't need to trouble himself, so he took a seat.

"Ah!" Naruto grasped something and pulled it out. "I almost forgot about this."

Gaara looked up and saw Naruto holding a bag of candy.

"There was a sale going on so I grabbed a bunch of chocolate. I can't finish it all by myself. I had it stashed away for when friends come over. We can split the bag."

Naruto was eager to share his candy stash, but Gaara wasn't as enthusiastic. He seemed rather disappointed by the offer.

"I don't really care for sweets," he confessed.

"You don't? Why? Do you get sick or something?"

"Anyone who eats too much of something would get sick, but that's not the issue. I just don't like sweet things."

"Oh." Naruto looked at the bag. He couldn't possibly eat it all himself. He was really looking forward to sharing it with Gaara since people rarely came over to visit him.

"Sorry. I'd help you eat it if I liked sweet things."

That was easily fixed. If it was just a matter of personal taste and not an actual health issue, then there was no problem trying to change things.

"Sleep." Naruto snapped his fingers and Gaara's head fell forward. "When you wake up from this trance, you will have a sweet tooth. You will crave chocolate and other sweets. You like eating candy." He snapped his fingers again. "Awake."

Gaara lifted his head.

"Well, if you don't want any…" Naruto started to put the bag away, but Gaara's eyes followed it hungrily.

"Actually…" Gaara had a strong desire suddenly come over him. The bag was far too tempting to pass up. "Um, actually, I might just take you up on that offer."

"You changed your mind?"

Gaara nodded his head. The look he was giving Naruto reminded him of a dog staring at a treat.

"Ok, then." Naruto handed him the bag.

Gaara opened it and took out one of the chocolate bars. He eagerly unwrapped it and took a big bite. "Mmm!" Gaara took another bite. "So good."

"You like it?"

"Mm-hmm." Gaara devoured the chocolate and licked the wrapper clean. "I can't believe I almost turned it down. I'm glad I didn't. I really like this."

"There's more here if you want it."

Gaara snatched up another chocolate bar and started eating. "This one's tasty, too." He had no idea chocolate could taste so good. Why did he say he didn't like it? It made no sense. This was delicious.

Naruto unwrapped his own bar and took a bite. This was nice. Eating candy together. It was something he always wanted to do. He imagined this is what it would have been like if he had a friend to share his stash with. Like after a festival or counting their loot after a holiday like Halloween. He pictured himself sitting on the floor counting his candy and trading it with his friends, then eating until they couldn't anymore. Such a thing seemed so pleasant.

He was older now, but at least he can say he had the experience. This was nice. Looking at Gaara across the table as he devoured one bar after another and talked. This was fun. He hoped Gaara felt the same way.

"Gaara?"

"Hm?" he asked with his mouth full.

"Do you ever celebrate things like Halloween?"

"Not really. I've heard of it, though. Kids go out asking for candy, dressed in costumes and have fun."

"We celebrate it in the village. Not everyone, but some do. And it's fun to dress up and go to parties."

Gaara stopped chewing. "No one's ever invited me."

"No one did for me, either." Naruto sighed. "I often wondered what it would be like. I pictured something like this. Coming home and sharing my candy with a friend."

Gaara looked at the bag between them on the table. "This is fun." He started to smile. "I would have liked to do this."

"Well, you're doing it now."

"Yes. And I'm enjoying it."

Naruto beamed at him. "Me, too."

Gaara nibbled on his fourth candy bar. Even under hypnosis, he knew when to stop before he ate himself sick. "There are a lot of things I wanted to do growing up. I tried to get kids to include me, but they all ran away screaming. I didn't want them to leave so I dragged them back with my sand. That only made it worse."

Naruto saw the sad look in his eyes and tried to cheer him up. "You're not that same person anymore. And I never considered you a monster."

Gaara didn't look at him.

"Look at me, Gaara. If you're a monster, then I am, too. Got it? And you're not. People just never gave you a chance. And now people love you. They got to know you and look what happened. You've got people who can't get enough of you. So cheer up and don't dwell on things like that. It's all in the past."

He nodded. "I know. I try not to dwell on it, but it's hard not to remember. And it's good that I do. Because then I can think about the person I would rather be. How to do better. Better for myself and the people around me."

Naruto was tempted to hypnotize Gaara into forgetting the pain of the past, but now he reconsidered. Gaara wasn't letting it consume him. He used it to better himself and help others. He needed to remember the past. Doing so got him this far. If Naruto messed with that, who knew what would happen to the Gaara he was sitting with now? He decided it was best to leave it alone.

"I'm just disappointed I couldn't do these things growing up."

"Me, too," said Naruto. "But I'm glad I get to do it now. Better late than never, right?"

"I suppose you're right." Gaara finished off the rest of his candy bar. "I am enjoying myself."

"Great. So am I."

Gaara licked his lips. "Do you have anything to drink?"

"I have some milk. That goes great with chocolate. Let me get it." Naruto came back with a carton of milk and got ready to pour it when Gaara caught sight of the numbers.

"It's expired."

"Again?" Naruto looked at the carton. "Crap. Well, I have some tea. Better than nothing, right?"

"I do like tea."

Naruto boiled the water and made a cup of tea for Gaara. He didn't mind the wait. Once it was finished and he had his cup, he took small sips and told Naruto it was good. He had better tea, of course, but he didn't want to be rude.

He and Naruto chatted for a while, catching up. They talked about all sorts of things. Missions, friends, things that happened in their villages, jutsu they were working on. Gaara even talked about what it was like being the Kazekage. It sounded like a busy job. Gaara didn't talk too much about it, remembering that he had a meeting tonight.

Once again, Gaara became restless, thinking he needed to get going. "I know it doesn't start for hours, but Kankuro might get agitated. I better let him know where I am."

"Then what?"

"Then I'll probably sit around until the meeting actually starts. I have everything in order. I took care of it in advance. Kankuro is supposed to handle the rest. All I have to do now is show up."

"So you're going to sit around for hours and wait for the meeting to start? Seems like a waste of time to me."

"I want to make sure I make a good impression and show up on time. I know it doesn't take that long to get there. I know where the building is. But even so…" Gaara sighed. "I don't want this to end."

Naruto paused. Gaara looked happy and sad all at the same time, like a child having the leave the park after a great day of play.

"I'm having so much fun spending time with you, Naruto. I never get to be social. But with this meeting looming over my head, it's just about all I can think about and can't seem to shake it. It's putting a damper on things, I know." He leaned back in his chair. "If only I didn't have to think about all these responsibilities. It would be nice to have a carefree afternoon. Like being a kid again. It would also be nice if we could be children and play together. That would be something."

The gears in Naruto's head were turning. "Yeah. Yeah, it would."

"Children don't have to worry about much. But this was very nice. Thank you, Naruto. I should get going."

A smile creeped onto Naruto's face. "The fun doesn't have to be over yet. Like you said, childhood is pretty carefree. Especially compared to adulthood. And for the Kazekage, no less."

Gaara gave him a puzzled look. "What are you talking about?"

He snapped his fingers. "Sleep."

Gaara slumped onto the table, his body completely limp.

The Kazekage had so many responsibilities, but as a child Gaara didn't have to do that much. He was free.

There was nothing like getting back to childhood.

Convinced he was doing Gaara yet another favor, Naruto gave him a new command. "Gaara, when you wake up from your trance, you will be five years old." This should ease Gaara's stress and add to their playtime. "Awake." He snapped his fingers.

* * *

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	20. To Be Young Again

**Chapter 20: To Be Young Again**

Gaara stirred. He opened his eyes and sat up. His eyes were bigger than usual. He looked so innocent. The hypnosis must have worked.

Gaara looked right at Naruto and asked, "Who are you?"

The hypnosis definitely worked.

"I'm Naruto. I'm a friend."

"A friend?" Gaara's voice was slightly higher than usual. He was definitely more childlike. His voice and expression said it all.

He looked around the room. He pushed himself away from the table and went over to the nearest window. Naruto followed him, wondering what he was going to do. Gaara peered outside, his eyes full of wonder.

"Where is this?" he asked. "This isn't the Sand."

"This is the Leaf Village," Naruto told him. Under the hypnosis, Gaara had no idea where he was. As a child, he had never been outside of the Sand Village before. To Gaara, this was his first time seeing the Leaf Village.

"Why am I here?"

"I was hoping you wanted to play with me," Naruto told him.

Gaara looked away from the window and gave Naruto a wide-eyed expression. "You really want to play with me?" he asked in awe.

Gaara had never been asked to join anyone in a game before. Hearing someone invite him to play was astonishing. To Gaara, it was a dream come true.

"Of course I want to play with you. Come on. What do you want to do?"

Gaara was so excited. A big smile spread across his face. He didn't know what to do first. He didn't know how to play any games, but he did want to play since someone offered.

Naruto smiled, seeing Gaara so excited he was shaking. It was rather cute seeing him so happy.

"How about we play hide-and-seek?" he suggested.

"I've seen kids play that before," said Gaara. "I never joined them, but I know what it is. You hide while someone counts, right?"

"Yup. Then I get to come find you. But stay inside, ok? It's a big village and I don't want you getting lost."

"Ok! I won't leave!" Why would he want to? Someone was actually going to play with him. He didn't want to stray too far.

"Ok, I'll count to ten and come find you, ok?" Naruto covered his eyes. "One, two…"

He heard Gaara quickly run away into the next room. In this childish state, he apparently had forgotten how to be stealthy. Naruto could hear his retreating footsteps quite clearly.

"Nine… Ten! Ready or not, here I come!" Naruto went in the direction of Gaara's footsteps. Though Gaara had the mind of a child, his body remained the same. Naruto assumed it would be easy to find someone who was roughly his height, but he soon discovered that finding Gaara wasn't as easy as he thought.

It was as if he had disappeared. He checked under the bed and in piles of dirty clothes, but there was no sign of him. He was good at this. Naruto looked everywhere, but he couldn't find him.

Then he heard giggling coming from his right. Smirking, Naruto turned toward his dresser. "Oh, where could he be?" he announced slyly. The muffled giggles were back. Naruto looked behind the dressed and found Gaara crouched behind it. "Gotcha!"

Gaara gasped and burst out laughing. Naruto laughed, too. This was amusing.

"Your turn to count and I'll hide. No peeking."

"Ok!" Gaara stood up and started counting. "One… Two… Three… Four…"

Naruto took off into the next room and hid on the ceiling. Gaara would never look up here. Who knew playing such a childish game could be so fun?

"Here I come!" Gaara called and walked into the kitchen. He looked under the table and in cupboards. The smile never left his face. He was enjoying himself as much as Naruto was. Maybe even more.

As time when on, Gaara's smile was starting to fade. He couldn't find Naruto anywhere. Part of him was starting to wonder if Naruto ditched him. Then he looked up.

"Found you!" he yelled, pointing.

"Aw, you got me." Naruto jumped down.

"Using jutsu is cheating," Gaara told him. "I can't do that."

"Do what?"

"Go on the ceiling. I don't know that skill yet."

Naruto was about to tell him he could when he remembered that Gaara thought he was five years old. He had gone back in time to before he knew most of his skills. He could control sand, but ninja skills were another thing entirely.

Naruto didn't want to confuse him and contradict the command he set in place. He had to carry on as of Gaara truly were five years old, and that meant acting as if he knew Gaara couldn't use jutsu.

"Ok, sorry. I forgot."

"That's ok. It's my turn to hide again, right?"

"Yup, it is."

"Cover your eyes and no peeking," Gaara told him and took off.

They went back and forth, taking turns for who got to hide and who counted. Then Gaara was beginning to get bored. He didn't put as much effort into his hiding places anymore. Even Naruto was getting tired of this. There were only so many places he could hide in the apartment and there were only two people playing.

They called it quits and Gaara went to stare out the window again.

"I want to go outside," he said. "I've never been to a place like this before. I want to see it. Can I? Please?"

Naruto couldn't deny him. Gaara looked so innocent and curious. How could he say 'no' to that face? But he couldn't let Gaara explore on his own. Not in this state. He would have to go with him. He had to lay out some ground rules, too, so Gaara wouldn't draw attention to himself. Naruto didn't want to reverse the command just yet. Not when Gaara was finally enjoying himself. He wanted Gaara to have fun. Childhood was all about having fun. He had to let Gaara go exploring while he still thought he was a child. It just seemed right.

"Ok, we can go outside, but you have to stay with me, ok? It's a big village and there are lots of people."

"Ok!" Gaara didn't want to stray too far from Naruto anyway. He wanted to stay close to his new friend. Why in the world would he leave his side?

Naruto and Gaara put on their shoes and went outside. Gaara held Naruto's hand as they went down the stairs and onto the main street. Afraid this would call unwanted attention, Naruto told him that he didn't need to hold his hand as long as he stayed close. Gaara was reluctant to let go, but as the wonders of the village came into view, he started to forget Naruto was even there.

"We don't have trees in our village," said Gaara. "Only cacti. But I think they're pretty. I saw a cactus that had flowers on it."

"In spring, the trees bloom and are covered in flowers."

"They do?" Gaara wanted to see that. It sounded so pretty. Then Gaara noticed something nearby. "What's that?" he asked, pointing.

"That?" Naruto looked at the small shop. "You can get snacks there. Like crapes."

"What's crapes?"

"Here, I'll show you." Naruto brought Gaara over to the shop and ordered a crape. He thanked the clerk and handed it to Gaara as they left. "It's tasty," he told him.

Gaara investigated the crape, holding it in both hands. He carefully looked it over and sniffed it. Then he licked a little bit of the cream, taste-testing. The cream was good. He took a bite. His eyes lit up and he went back for a bigger bite.

"You like it?" Naruto asked.

"It's yummy!"

"Glad to hear it." Naruto led the way. "There are other places to eat, too. There's this stand that sells smoked meats if you want to try it."

"I like meat."

"Ok, let's go find it."

It took some searching, but they finally found the small stand. Business was a little slow that day so the owner was very accommodating. Naruto ordered one item but the man gave him two and only charged him for one.

"How lucky." Naruto held up what he bought so Gaara could choose what he wanted to try. "This one is beef and this one is eel."

Gaara looked at the two kabobs and asked if he could try both of them. Naruto handed him the beef one first, which he quickly polished off in a few bites. Then he took the skewered eel and took a bite. He thought they were both good, but he ate the eel on a little slower.

"At least he's eating something besides junk food." Naruto led Gaara down the street as he nibbled at the eel. "So where would you-"

"Gaara!"

Naruto flinched.

Gaara looked up, his mouth still clamped down on the eel. "It's Kankuro."

"Crap."

Kankuro came over as soon as he saw Gaara. "There you are. I was looking everywhere." He turned to Naruto. "You said only a minute!"

"He wanted to…"

"If you make him late for that meeting…"

"It's hours away!" Naruto was sick of hearing this. "I thought you were more laid-back than Temari when it came to things like this."

"I'm plenty laid-back. But if anything happens, she's going to chew me out. And these meetings are important. I have to make sure Gaara gets there and while he's away from the village, I have to make sure he's safe."

"He's fine. He can handle himself." Naruto had a feeling Kankuro was being more protective of his younger brother after the incident a few months ago with the Akatsuki. Naruto could understand that.

Kankuro looked at his watch. "We still have a few hours. Maybe I should bring him back to the place we're staying and go over things with him one last time."

"We're still hanging out. Besides, Gaara can use a break once in a while. Don't stress him out."

"He's fine. Now hand him over."

"I'm plenty responsible. I'm even treating him to some local food. See? Responsible."

"Thanks for feeding him, but I should take over from here."

Naruto didn't want to hand Gaara over just yet. He especially didn't want to hand him over in this state. "Just a little longer. We never get to hang out."

"Fine, we'll let Gaara decide." Kankuro faced his brother. "Gaara, you want to come with me and prepare for the meeting tonight or do you want to hang out with Naruto?"

Naruto prayed Kankuro wouldn't notice any changes in Gaara. If he managed to overlook the look of innocence on his face, then it all came down to how Gaara answered him. If he said anything childish, the cat was out of the bag.

Gaara weighed the two options and found one more boring than the other. He was having a lot of fun with Naruto. Why should Kankuro dictate how long he could play with a new friend?

Gaara stepped closer to Naruto. "I want to stay with Naruto," he said. "Just for a bit longer."

Naruto saw the determined look in his eyes which made Gaara look his normal age. It was really the look of a stubborn child, but Kankuro read it differently, which was lucky for them.

"Fine, fine," he sighed. "But just a bit longer. We do have things to do." Kankuro gave Naruto a warning look. "Watch him."

His tone was threatening, but Naruto knew it was just because he was being a protective older brother.

"You can count on me," Naruto told him.

Kankuro huffed and walked away.

Naruto let out a sigh of relief. Kankuro didn't notice anything amiss. "Thank goodness… That was a close one."

"What can we do now?" Gaara asked. He still wanted to have fun.

"Well…" There was only so much they could do with just the two of them. He wanted Gaara to experience what it was like to have someone to play with as a child. He already did that, but he wanted to do more.

What made any game more fun? More playmates.

That seemed like a good idea. Not too many, though. A crowd wasn't that much fun. A few close friends were. Maybe a couple more playmates for Gaara would be good. Now he just had to find them.

"Naruto!"

"Oof!" Someone slammed into his body and gave him a great, big hug.

"I found you! It feels like I haven't seen you in ages." Sai pressed his face against Naruto's shoulder. "I was getting worried, but what have I got to be worried about? You're amazing and incredible and so cool."

"Oh, yeah. You." Naruto almost forgot about this. Sai was still his admirer.

Actually, this might not be such a bad thing. Naruto was getting an idea.

"Sai, your timing is actually pretty great. Could you follow me for a minute?"

"Of course! I'd follow you anywhere."

"Yes, I'm sure you will…"

Naruto took Gaara by the hand and led him through the streets of the village. Sai followed not far behind. Gaara kept quiet, observing what was going on around him. He wondered what Naruto was doing and who this other person was.

Naruto stopped, finding what he was looking for. Neji was across the street with his team and they were talking. Neji was acting normal, just as he had instructed. As they walked closer, Naruto saw his chance.

"Neji, I need you for a second."

Neji heard Naruto's voice and looked up. As soon as he saw him, his eyes changed as did his expression. "I'll catch up with you guys later," he said in monotone and went with Naruto.

Naruto brought Neji over to the group and told them all to follow him. Neji did so without a word and Sai kept going on and on about how amazing Naruto was. Gaara held Naruto's hand and walked closer to him. He was more comfortable around Naruto.

He wanted to ask Naruto what was going on, but he kept quiet. He would find out soon enough.

* * *

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	21. Playmates

**Chapter 21: Playmates**

Naruto corralled all three of them into his apartment and sat them down on the couch. So far, Gaara wasn't causing him too much trouble and neither was Neji now that he had changed his command from what it was before to simply being his servant. However, Sai was getting on his nerves with his command. One servant was more than enough.

Now that Naruto was getting bored with that command, he decided to change it. All of them, actually. He was curious about this and couldn't resist. He wanted to see it just to satisfy his curiosity. And for the sheer fun of it.

"Ok, everyone. And..." Naruto snapped his fingers. "Sleep."

They all slumped on top of each other on the couch. Naruto stood back and watched them with a smile on his face. They actually looked pretty cute like this, he had to admit. Seeing Gaara slumped onto Neji's chest and Neji slumped against Sai and Sai resting his head on Neji's was a pretty cute sight. They looked a little bit like kittens sleeping in a basket together. They all looked so comfortable.

Naruto shook that image from his mind and set to work. Seeing Gaara act young again made Naruto realize that he needed some playmates. "When you wake up from your trance this time, you will be five years old. Understand? You will be five years old." Naruto snapped his fingers. "Awake."

They started to wake up. Neji's eyes were a little brighter than usual and had a strange innocence about them. Sai's eyes were about the same but they seemed to sparkle a little as he looked around the room.

"Hey, guys," Naruto greeted them. "How are you doing?"

Neji looked around. "Where are we?" he asked, his voice sounding slightly higher than usual.

"This is my place," Naruto told him. "I scheduled a play-date for you."

"A play-date?"

"Yup." Naruto pulled Gaara forward and showed him off to the others. "This is Gaara. I thought it would be fun if we all played together."

Gaara smiled at the idea but he backed away nervously into Naruto as he looked at the two faces staring back at him. He was being shy.

Neji turned away. "Playing is for little kids."

"You are a kid," Naruto told him. He hoped Neji wasn't resisting the trance. He should have believed he was five years old like the others.

Neji shook his head. "I'm a Hyuga. We do not play. I've already begun my training which means I'm not a little kid anymore."

Just like with Gaara, the command had thrown Neji back in time. He believed he was his childhood self from when he was five years old. Apparently he was serious even back then.

"Just play a couple games, ok, Neji?"

"I said playing games is for little kids and I am not a little kid." Neji folded his arms defiantly.

Naruto growled. "I had no idea you would be this much of a brat."

"What did you call me?" Neji snarled. He picked up a pillow from the couch and threw it at Naruto's head. "Don't call me a brat!"

Gaara ducked and hid by Naruto's legs. Suddenly, Neji didn't seem like a very good playmate for him. He turned his attention to Sai who was watching everything unfold with quiet indifference. Seeing this person being so quiet gave Gaara hope that he would be a good playmate for him.

He approached Sai and gave a shy smile. "Hi. I'm... I'm Gaara."

"Hello."

"Did you want to play with me?"

Sai shrugged. "I suppose. I'm not sure how to."

"You can play games with me."

"Ok," said Sai. "How do you do that?"

"Um..." Gaara wasn't sure how to answer that. "You've never played games before?"

"Not really. No one plays games with me. We're always too busy training."

Naruto turned his attention away from Neji to introduce the two of them. "Gaara, this is Sai. He can be a little weird so be patient with him."

Sai pointed at himself. "Ok. So my name is Sai now. I understand." He gave Gaara a smile. "So show me how to do these games you want to play."

Gaara smiled. "Ok. Let's play."

Neji scoffed at them. "Playing is for little kids."

"You are a little kid, you brat," Naruto told him.

"I told you not to call me that!" Neji threw another pillow at him. "I am not a little kid!"

"You sure are acting like one!"

"I am not!"

"Yes, you are."

"No, I'm not!" Neji kicked Naruto in the shin.

"Ow! Brat!"

Neji stuck his tongue out. Though he was raised to be proper, that behavior was only directed towards adults or people of stature. Since Naruto didn't fit either criteria and didn't seem very mature himself, Neji saw no reason to show Naruto any respect, especially after being called a brat several times. Upbringing aside, Neji still had the mind of a five-year-old for the time being, so his behavior was perfectly understandable.

Gaara tried to show Sai how to play different games with him. Sai nodded and tried to do as he was told. He seemed interested in playing with Gaara but was also confused. They played awkwardly for a little while until Neji came over to show them the proper way to play the game. It seemed he was getting in on the game as well. He just couldn't resist the allure of games.

Naruto sat back and admired his work. Three of his friends were now playing with each other on the floor. This went on for a few minutes, then Sai got up and left the group. "Where are you going?" Naruto asked him.

"I'm bored."

"But you were just playing with them."

"I know. But, the game is going on for a while and Neji keeps saying that there are other rules we're ignoring and the more he explains, the more boring it gets. So I don't want to play anymore."

Gaara looked sad. He still wanted to play.

"I'm sure there's something you guys can still do together," said Naruto.

"But I'm no good at these games. I've never played them and there are so many rules."

Naruto tried to think. "I have an idea." He grabbed something from the other room and came back. "Hey, Sai. Do you like to... draw?"

Sai's eyes lit up at once. "Yeah!" he said with a big smile on his face.

"Well, I happen to have some paper here and some pens you can-"

Sai snatched them away and sat on the floor. He rolled the paper out on the floor and started drawing with the pens.

Curious, Gaara came over and asked to join him. Sai handed him a pen and shared the paper with him.

Finding himself alone, Neji came over to watch them draw. He just observed at first, then he asked to use one of the pens to make improvements on some of the drawings. Gaara didn't fuss but Sai whined about how he liked the drawing the way it was. Sensing a fight, Naruto intervened and gave Neji his own sheet of paper to draw on so he wouldn't mess up Sai's. Neji drew for a little while, then got bored and wanted to do something else.

"Who wants to play hide-and-seek?"

Gaara nodded up and down. "It'll be lots more fun with more people. Let's play."

"How do you play?" Sai asked.

Neji explained the rules. "One person covers their eyes and counts to a certain number, like ten. Then, while the counter is counting, everyone else finds a place to hide and hides there. It's the counter's job to find everyone who's hiding when they stop counting. If the counter can't find someone, then the one he can't find wins. If the counter finds everybody, then they win. The counter is it. That's what he's call."

"I thought he was called the counter," said Sai.

"The person who is it counts, but he's not called counter. He's called it. So when you say 'I'm it' then that means you count."

"Neji said he's it so he counts!" Gaara said, pointing.

"I was just making an example."

"Neji, count to ten while Sai and I hide."

Neji sighed. "Alright. Just to show you how it's done." Neji covered his eyes with his hands. "One… Two…"

Gaara grabbed Sai's hand and pulled him into the next room. "Come on," he whispered gleefully.

Naruto watched as they played their game. Gaara looked so happy.

Neji managed to find both of them in the bedroom. Though they thought they were small, their teenaged bodies were difficult to hide. It was fun seeing them squeeze their bodies to fit behind bookcases and under tables. Now that it was his turn to hide, Neji emptied out a chest in the bedroom and hid inside. Sai found him only because he noticed all the clothes and gear on the floor.

It was fun seeing them run through the apartment, giggling and having a great time. Gaara even asked Naruto not to tell Sai that he was hiding behind the couch Naruto was seated in. Sai found him anyway.

But soon they all grew tired of playing and gathered in the living room to take a break. Neji even commented that he should probably get home, still thinking he had a curfew.

Not wanting them to fuss or get agitated when they weren't allowed to leave, Naruto decided enough was enough and turned them back to their proper ages.

As long as they were all gathered on the floor, now seemed like the perfect opportunity. Naruto used the trigger and they all went back into a trance. He returned them to their normal ages, but he didn't want to release them just yet. So he allowed the previous command to take effect again and woke them all up.

Gaara was back to how he was before but still under hypnosis so Naruto could give him a new command anytime. Neji went back to being a silent servant and Sai had returned to being Naruto's number-one fan.

Naruto went over and asked Gaara how he was doing.

Gaara sat on the floor, scratching the side of his head. "I'm a little dizzy. What happened?"

"It's nothing. These guys just decided to come over. Don't worry about it."

Gaara looked down at his hands. "Why am I covered in ink?"

Naruto looked at Gaara's hands. It must have been from the pens they were using to draw. Gaara was also covered in dust after their game of hide and seek. The apartment might have been recently cleaned but it wasn't totally spotless. There were still plenty of dust bunnies under the bed and behind the bookcases. Children at play often made messes even in a clean house so this didn't surprise Naruto too much.

In fact, it gave him another idea.

* * *

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	22. Bath Time

**Chapter 22: Bath Time**

"Hey, I have an idea," said Naruto. "Why don't we all go to the bathhouse and soak in the hot springs?"

"Hot springs?" repeated Gaara.

"Yeah. We'll get you all cleaned up and we can spend time together. It's always fun going with more people anyway. You'll like it."

Gaara didn't look too thrilled. "Actually, I think I'll pass."

"What? Why not?"

He shrugged. "I don't really care for water. I never liked swimming. Not that our village has many pools anyway. I just never liked baths."

"You don't?"

He shook his head. "Take showers to get clean, I just don't soak. Never liked it."

"Sounds like it's just business with you. In and out."

"The main point is to get clean, isn't it?"

This wouldn't do. If Gaara didn't like soaking in water, then taking him to a bathhouse was going to be next to impossible. He didn't want to have to drag Gaara inside.

Then again, he didn't have to.

"Sai, Neji, cover your ears."

They did as they were told.

Naruto snapped his fingers. "Sleep."

Gaara closed his eyes.

"Gaara, when you wake up, you will want to go to the bathhouse. You want to give soaking in the hot springs a try." He snapped his fingers again. "Awake."

Gaara opened his eyes. "Actually…" he said slowly. "Now that you mention it, going to the bathhouse sounds like a nice idea."

"Really, Gaara?"

"Sure. I'm willing to give it a try. Who knows? I might like it this time."

"Yes! Thanks, Gaara." Naruto stood up. "Guys, we're going to the bathhouse."

Sai and Neji didn't move.

Naruto pulled on their arms. "You can uncover your ears now."

* * *

The foursome went to the bathhouse. Naruto kept an eye out for Kankuro but he wasn't around. Gaara stayed close to the group, observing how a bathhouse worked. He stayed quiet while Naruto did most of the work. Soon, he was being led into a locker-room and given a towel.

"You'll like it, Gaara. It's fun."

Gaara took his word for it. He wondered why he had the sudden change of heart. Maybe he didn't want the fun to end. Maybe he wanted to try something new. Maybe he didn't want to disappoint Naruto. Either way, he was here now and being pushed into the next room.

It was warm and damp in here. It smelled strongly of soap and water. It was bigger than he imagined. He was picturing a bathroom half this size. He was glad they were the only people here. He didn't feel comfortable bathing in front of strangers. In front of anyone, actually. But this is what Naruto wanted and for some reason he wanted to give it a try.

Nothing ventured, nothing gained.

They chose a spot furthest from the door and started selecting their soaps. Gaara wasn't sure if he should try something scented or just regular soap. It wasn't a wide selection. Just the two and a couple different shampoos.

"Sai!"

Gaara looked up and saw Sai eagerly washing Naruto's back.

"What?" he said cheerfully. "I want to help."

"Fine. Just don't be weird about it."

Gaara looked at his reflection in the mirror. He didn't look as stressed as before. Other than that, and the ink smear on his cheek, he didn't look too different from the last time he saw himself.

"If Sai's going to wash my back for me, you want Neji to wash yours?" Naruto asked.

Gaara shrugged. "I suppose." He wasn't sure what to do. He had never been to a bathhouse in the Leaf before. Now that he thought about it, he had never been to any. No one was willing to go with him. They didn't have any hot springs in the Sand Village anyway. As a child, his siblings stayed away from him so he was used to doing things by himself, but most families bathed together when the children were young. Everything about this was new and different for him.

Is that why he wanted to go along with Naruto's suggestions? Why he wanted to give it a try?

He felt something cold on his back and he flinched. It was the soap. A warm wet cloth came next and started to rub the soap over his skin.

This wasn't too bad.

Gaara sat quietly as Neji washed his back and shoulders. Neji had a gentle touch. Having someone else bathe him was a little strange but it was nice, too. He was free to be lazy and do nothing while someone else did all the work.

"Eep!"

Hearing Naruto yelp, Gaara turned his head. Sai was rubbing his face against Naruto's back.

"Your skin is so soft!"

"Weird! Weird! You're being weird! Stop it!"

"Sorry. I won't do it again."

"You better not."

Things were uneventful until Sai started feeling Naruto's muscles. He squeezed Naruto's arms with both hands. "You're so strong!"

"What did I just say?"

"Sorry."

Gaara looked away. Neji was starting to shampoo his hair. He was a little rougher on Gaara's head than his back, but Gaara didn't mind. He liked the way Neji's fingers pressed into his scalp.

"Do you like the scented shampoo, Gaara?" Naruto asked him.

"It's different."

"Different good?"

Gaara took a whiff of the shampoo. "Good."

Naruto smiled.

Gaara looked at his reflection again. It looked like he had a white afro with all the soap suds and bubbles. Gaara shut his eyes as Neji dumped a bucket of water over his head to get the soap out. Gaara clenched his teeth.

"Cold."

"Sorry," said Naruto. "The water must have been sitting there a while and cooled down."

"I made sure to use fresh hot water for you, Naruto!" Sai dumped the bucket over his head.

"Ah!" Naruto tensed up. "Too hot!"

"Sorry. I'll fix it." Sai dumped a second bucket over him. This one with ice water.

"Cold!"

"I'll warm you up." Sai reached for the facet but Naruto grabbed his wrist.

"Never mind! I'll warm up in the hot spring!"

Gaara let a smile grace his lips, finding this experience enjoyable. Seeing Naruto and Sai interact with each other was also pretty amusing.

He saw Neji hold another bucket of water over his head in the mirror and shut his eyes, expecting the water to be cold. To his relief, it was nice and warm. When he opened his eyes, he saw that all the soap had been rinsed from his hair and shoulders.

"Cold! Cold! Cold!" Naruto quickly turned off the facet in front of him, having run the cold water by mistake.

"I can warm you up, Naruto, sir," Sai told him and Naruto shoved a bar of soap into his open mouth to shut him up.

"I can handle it, Sai. I can warm up in the springs, ok?"

Sai spat out the soap and started gagging and spitting to get the taste off his tongue. "Ok," he said, wiping his chin with his hand.

The hot springs sounded even better to Gaara now that he had been soaking wet for a while. Sitting like this was making him cold.

Naruto looked to the side and saw clumps of wet sand forming a ring around Gaara. It wasn't his sand armor. This was just the sand in his hair and the bits that got under his clothing. It was a good thing he got cleaned off before going into the spring, otherwise they might have been able to make a sandcastle in the water. Naruto didn't realize just how sandy Gaara could still be after leaving the desert far behind.

He also realized that Gaara must have been cold just sitting there with only a towel around him. With the sand off his body and in need of warmth, now seemed like a good time to go to the hot springs.

"Ready?" Naruto asked him and Gaara nodded his head.

Naruto led the group out into another area. As soon as he opened the sliding door, Gaara felt the temperature rise slightly. He saw steam. Naruto moved out of the way and Gaara was able to see the water fenced in by large flat stones.

"Here we are," Naruto said more to him than the other two. "The water's hot so you might want to get in slowly."

"Ok." Gaara kept a firm grip on his towel.

Naruto went in first followed by Sai and then Neji who had to be invited in by Naruto. Naruto encouraged Gaara to join them so he could warm up.

After seeing that the others had entered with no issue, Gaara stepped forward.

Unsure how he should go about it, Gaara decided to enter slowly as Naruto advised. Though Naruto and the others simply stepped into the spring, Gaara decided to enter even slower by sitting down and letting his legs go in first.

The water was warm. Really warm. It felt good on his feet. Gaara slowly dipped his legs into the water. The water went up to his knees but the heat from the spring warmed him throughout. He was almost tempted to stay like this and not enter fully as the others had done. But the heat felt so good on his legs, he wanted to feel it on the rest of his body.

"Come on in, Gaara," Naruto urged him with a smile. "Don't be shy."

Gaara's cheeks turned pink at being called 'shy', but that could have been from the water.

Gaara loosened his grip on the towel around his waist and slid into the spring. He gasped slightly as the hot water touched his chest and back. It was hot. But it felt good. Gaara remained still for a moment, letting his body get used to the heat before moving further in. He sat down in the water which came up to his shoulders and took several short breaths, the heat almost suffocating. After a few seconds, his body got accustomed to the heat and he was able to breathe normally.

"You did it, Gaara," Naruto said with a smile. "How's it feel? Do you like it?"

Gaara soaked in the water, moving his arms from side to side underwater before answering. "It's nice."

Soaking in hot water wasn't too bad. Different, but not bad.

"See?" Naruto told him. "I told you you'd like it."

He did like it, which surprised him. Normally he hated soaking in water. He didn't like being wet. He wondered what had changed. Maybe it was the fact that Naruto was with him.

The water did feel good on his body. The heat alone was loosening his muscles. The water made his body feel lighter. The feeling of water on his skin didn't irritate him this time. It felt good. It was soothing.

Naruto tried to have a conversation with him but Gaara was too relaxed to participate other than giving him one-word answers. He just wanted to soak here a while and let his mind drift.

Naruto normally didn't carry on long conversations while in the hot spring, but he wanted to make the most of the short amount of time he had left to hang out with Gaara. It was starting to get later and even he was starting to think it was time to let Gaara go back to his Kazekage duties.

They sat quietly for a while, enjoying the water.

Naruto tried to think of anything else they could do before calling it a day and letting Gaara continue with what he had been doing before. It might be a good idea. Even if the meeting was in the evening and it was still afternoon, Gaara did need some time to prepare.

He was also bothered by Kankuro's tension. He seemed more on edge since Gaara was with him. He knew it must have been because of the incident a few months ago with the Akatsuki. Naruto also suspected Kankuro was behaving this way because Gaara was still considered a child in the eyes of many officials. They thought he was too young to be Kazekage and Kankuro wanted to support his brother and show the adults that they were wrong. He and Gaara both wanted to make a good impression. If Gaara was late or ill prepared, that would have effected how others perceived him, especially the officials.

As much as Naruto wanted to spend time with Gaara, he knew he couldn't take him away from his responsibilities. He wanted to become Hokage himself one day. He couldn't be irresponsible. If he wanted the position, he also couldn't take others away from their own responsibilities. Gaara was the youngest Kazekage. He couldn't drag Gaara down. Not if they were true friends. He didn't want to ruin Gaara's chances or changed how the public viewed him, knowing how difficult someone in his position would have it. Gaara had a tailed beast inside of him and he was young. People already held him in a certain light because of this. To have come this far only to have Naruto's selfishness change everything he had worked so hard for…

If such a thing happened, Naruto would never be able to forgive himself. He was in a similar position to Gaara. He was happy for Gaara's success and it only made him want to work harder to be at that same level himself.

No wonder Kankuro seemed so stressed. He knew that the public already viewed Gaara a certain way. Things had changed, of course, but some people still judged Gaara harshly just for being young and for having a tailed beast inside of him. Those things could not be helped. Kankuro and Naruto knew that it wasn't fair and that people would judge someone like Gaara so harshly just based on that alone. Which meant anything Gaara did could be blown out of proportion. Something as simple as being five minutes late could be misconstrued as him being irresponsible, even if it wasn't his fault. If he stuttered during a meeting when it was his turn to speak, the officials could say it was a sign that Gaara was ill prepared.

No wonder he and Kankuro were so tense. Naruto hadn't given it much thought until now. He thought the whole thing was ridiculous at the time, but now that he pieced together everything he knew from past and present in addition with how people viewed people like himself and Gaara, Naruto understood why they were so fixated on time and having everything ready.

Naruto felt like a fool for not seeing it sooner.

Fun was fun, but he couldn't take up any more of Gaara's time. He had to let him get ready for the meeting. At least they got to spend a couple of hours together. That was good enough.

"Gaara?"

Naruto didn't hear a response.

Naruto looked across the spring. "Gaara?"

He looked over just in time to see Gaara sink underwater.

"Gaara!" Naruto reached forward and pulled Gaara out of the spring. "Are you ok? What happened?"

Gaara opened his eyes which had grown heavier. "Sorry. I think I dozed off for a second."

"You can't sleep here. That's dangerous."

"I know. I'm sorry."

Gaara was a bit too relaxed. If he was nodding off in the hot spring, it was time to go.

"We should get going, Gaara. I think we've soaked enough."

Gaara nodded. "Yeah. I think so, too."

Naruto helped Gaara out of the spring and back inside, telling the others to follow.

In the locker room, Gaara mentioned that his body felt heavier after being in the spring. Naruto told him that was common, noting that this was probably why Gaara wanted to sit down as he got dressed rather than stand like the others. He seemed listless.

"Maybe that hot spring relaxed you too much."

Gaara shrugged one shoulder. "It was my first time."

* * *

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	23. Dancing Fool

**Chapter 23: Dancing Fool**

Naruto helped Gaara back to his apartment. He was so sluggish Naruto had to help him up the stairs. He told Sai and Neji to do their normal thing until he called, wanting to change Gaara back to his normal self before the meeting. It would be easier to do it with them not around since they all had the same trigger. After seeing how slow Gaara was, Naruto was starting to think he should have asked for their help.

After he got Gaara inside, Naruto told him to sit down on the couch. Gaara dropped onto the cushions and sat there looking exhausted.

Once Naruto put him back into a trance, the plan was to fully snap him out of it. This way, Gaara would be completely back to normal and the trigger would no longer have any effect so no one could use it on him again.

Naruto snapped his fingers. "Sleep."

Gaara closed his eyes.

"When you wake up from your trance, you will no longer be hypnotized. This is the last time the two triggers I gave you will have any effect. You will go back to living normally from now on." He snapped his fingers. "Awake."

Gaara didn't move.

He snapped his fingers again. "Awake."

Gaara did nothing but snore.

Naruto went over to the couch and gave Gaara a shake. "Gaara? Wake up." He snapped his fingers again. "Awake. Gaara, awake!"

Something was wrong. Gaara should have woken up by now.

Naruto shook him again but he just slumped to the side.

"Gaara? Gaara!"

"Huh?" Gaara opened his eyes lazily. "What?"

"Wake up, Gaara. Come on, get up."

Gaara started to close his eyes again. "I'm too tired."

Something must have gone wrong with the command. When he told Gaara that the triggers would no longer have any effect, did that mean, to his mind, that the trigger to wake him up would also no longer work? Meaning that he was stuck in a trance?

No, Gaara was talking to him. He wasn't in a trance anymore. He was just sleepy.

What should he do? Let him sleep it off?

Naruto decided to give Gaara a few minutes to recover and then try waking him up.

While he let Gaara rest, he went around the apartment, picking up their drawings from before and tossing them in a pile by the garbage can. He tidied up a little bit before going back over to the couch and trying again.

"Gaara?" He gave him a little shake. "Gaara, wake up."

Gaara kept his eyes shut.

"Gaara?"

He frowned and buried his face in one of the pillows.

"Gaara, you have to get up. Come on, please?"

Gaara shoved him away.

Naruto knew something had to be done. He pulled Gaara into a sitting position and said, "Kankuro is wondering where you are. Your meeting will start soon."

"Meeting?" he mumbled sleepily.

"That's right. Your meeting, remember? Kankuro's looking everywhere for you. He must be worried."

That got Gaara to open his eyes and sit up under his own power. "Right. I have to get to the meeting. Thanks for reminding me."

"No problem."

Gaara stretched and started to stand up. He looked around for his gourd and started to walk over to it. He tried to lift it onto his shoulder, but he lost his grip and watched it hit the ground by his feet.

"Sorry," he said.

"Not a big deal. The gourd ok?"

"I think so." Gaara bent down to check. He stayed squatting for several seconds, looking at his gourd. Then he collapsed on top of it and stayed there.

"Are you ok, Gaara?"

Gaara gave him a tired look. "I feel really tired."

Naruto was more than concerned. He was worried. Something must have gone wrong.

"Let me help you."

He helped Gaara to his feet but when he tried picking up the gourd, Gaara told him to leave it there and he would come back for it later. He didn't need it at the meeting and he found it to be too heavy for him to carry at the moment.

Worried, Naruto walked Gaara to the door and helped him down the stairs. Gaara insisted he could shake off this feeling and would be fine.

But the more he walked, the more it became obvious that this was something he could not shake off. He kept dragging his feet and bumped into several buildings. Naruto tried to help guide him but it wasn't enough. Gaara wasn't becoming more alert as he moved, he was getting more tired.

"Maybe sugar will help give you some energy." Naruto got a soda from a vending machine and gave it to Gaara. "Drink this. It might perk you up."

Gaara drank the soda and handed the can back to Naruto.

"Well?"

Gaara belched and cover his mouth. "Sorry."

"How do you feel?"

"The bubbles tickle my nose."

"Other than that. How do you feel?"

Gaara thought about it. "I suppose I'm a bit more alert. The carbonation kind of gave me a jolt."

"That's good."

"It was pretty sweet, though."

"Sugar can give you energy."

"I don't really care for sweet things, though."

Now that he said that, Naruto was convinced that Gaara was no longer hypnotized. Otherwise, he would have liked sweet things, like before. This must have been an effect from the hypnosis. Gaara must have still been working it out of his system.

"Naruto! Gaara!"

Gaara flinched as something green landed in front of him.

He wasn't normally startled, but he normally wasn't out of it, either.

"What a surprise to see you here!" Lee said loudly. "Are you visiting? Well, of course, you are. What a silly question. But what are you doing now?"

"Trying to wake up," Gaara said honestly. "I went to the hot springs with Naruto and since then I've been feeling a little tired."

"I know just the thing!" Lee struck a pose. "A good friendly spar will do the trick! Nothing like a good battle among friends to get the blood pumping and energy soaring!"

Gaara gave Lee a look. "Is this your way of asking for a rematch from a couple of years ago?"

"I had not thought of that. But if you insist on a rematch, I would be more than happy to take you up on that offer. Just tell me where and when. Oh! Unless this is your way of asking me to take you on now! What a splendid idea! You must be eager. Well, I must warn you that I have gotten a lot stronger since then! It would only be fair to warn you of such a thing, lest you be taken by surprise by the spring time of you-"

"Lee, not now," Naruto interrupted.

"Aw, why not? Have I done something?"

"No. We're just a bit busy right now. Gaara has a meeting to get to, so there's no time for a match."

"Then you need an escort!" Lee walked beside Gaara. "I will be more than happy to-"

"We're good, Lee," Naruto said from Gaara's other side.

"Are you certain?"

"Very certain."

"If you are pressed on time, I can get you there quickly."

"We're good, Lee."

Stuck in the middle of the two of them, Gaara had no choice but to let them yell in his ears as they walked. On the plus side, it did help him stay awake.

"Lee, could you please let us do our thing?" Naruto asked him. He had no time for Lee's enthusiasm and he was still concerned about Gaara's condition. Now wasn't the time.

"I can let the Hokage know that you've arrived," Lee offered. "I will go and inform her right now."

Naruto left Gaara's side to chase Lee down and grab him. "No, Lee! You don't have to."

"It is no trouble."

"Everything's taken care of. Thanks, Lee, but we're good."

Lee looked disappointed. "Are you sure? I have no much energy and no one is interested in doing anything with me. I have already finished my training ahead of schedule. I suppose I could reward myself with an additional thirty laps, but I would much rather do it with people. Having friends with you makes it more fun."

Naruto had to get Lee out of his hair but he didn't want to be rude to him, knowing Lee just wanted to hang out with friends. If only there was a way to keep him entertained and out of his hair at the same time without hurting his feelings.

Then Naruto remembered there was.

"Lee, sleep," Naruto said, snapping his fingers.

Lee closed his eyes and stayed on his feet.

"Lee, when you wake up, you will dance," Naruto told him. "You want to dance." He snapped his fingers. "Awake."

Lee opened his eyes and sprang away from Naruto. He immediately started dancing as if hearing upbeat music. Naruto stared at him, a little impressed. Lee had some moves.

"Looks like you're busy. I'll do my own thing, ok, Lee?" Naruto didn't wait for his answer. He quickly went back to Gaara and led him down the street by his hand.

Gaara seemed more alert, but Naruto could tell he wasn't one hundred percent. He had to make sure he was in good condition before returning him to Kankuro.

"Did you want any more soda?"

Gaara shook his head. "No thanks."

"Still doing ok, Gaara?"

"I think I'm alright. Just a little foggy."

He needed to make sure Gaara was fully awake before leaving him with Kankuro. Walking seemed to be helping him a little bit. Naruto actually wasn't sure what he was doing. He had no plan. He just wanted to keep Gaara active so he wouldn't fall asleep before the meeting.

Gaara suddenly stopped, causing Naruto to get jerked backwards. Naruto turned around to see what happened. Gaara was still on his feet, but he was looking elsewhere.

"What is that about?" he asked with a weird look on his face.

Naruto followed his gaze and found himself with a similar expression.

Kiba was digging through trashcans and chewing on whatever he found inside.

"Oh, yeah. That." Kiba must have heard a bell which was why he was acting like this.

There was no time to reverse it now. Naruto would have to come back to fix the problem later.

"Never mind him, Gaara. Let's keep moving."

He heard Gaara grunt. Then he said, "Uh, Naruto?"

"Yeah?" Naruto turned around.

"Why is he doing this?"

Gaara was gesturing with his eyes to Shino who had thrown himself around Gaara in a big hug.

While it was nice to be hugged, Gaara was pretty uncomfortable having a boy hug him out of nowhere like this.

"Shino…"

"This is torture," Shino said through his teeth. "Do you know how many times I've been slapped today? But I can't stop. I've tried but I can't."

Shino was speaking to Gaara since he still couldn't question Naruto, which, to his mind, now included asking Naruto rhetorical questions.

Hugs could be therapeutic, but to Shino it was agony. It no longer felt comforting to squeeze another human being. It was awful.

He couldn't relax, getting up and throwing himself at anyone nearby for some unknown reason. His mind still hadn't linked the sound of clanging to the hugging response. Normally he would have figured it out by now, but under the hypnosis, he couldn't draw that kind of conclusion. All he knew was that he was hugging people and didn't know why. He just couldn't help it.

He gave up catching bugs in the middle of a chase to hug people. He couldn't sit on a bench without getting up and going after someone close by. He forwent meals, abandoning his food the instant he heard a clang to hug someone. His body was out of control. It was as if his body had been magnetized, drawn to other people against his will.

"None of this is by choice," he told Gaara. "My body just moves. It's maddening. I don't even know what's causing it. I haven't a clue. I'm sorry."

Naruto thought it would be funny to give him this command. He thought it would be harmless. He didn't realize it would be torture for poor Shino. Now that Shino explained how this experience was for him, Naruto felt bad for putting him through this. It was never meant to be torture.

Shino took his arms off Gaara and stepped backwards. Before he could vanish into the woods, Naruto grabbed him.

"Shino, come with me for a second. I want to help you."

Shino followed Naruto without question. Once they were off the street, Naruto snapped his fingers.

"Sleep."

Shino's head tilted forward and his arms fell at his sides.

"Shino, you will no longer hug people when you hear a clang."

He could have stopped there. He probably should have, but Naruto didn't want to let Shino off that easy.

"When you wake up, you will be afraid of bugs." Naruto snapped his fingers. "Awake."

Shino lifted his head.

"There you go," Naruto told him with a smile. "Some calm deep breaths to calm you down, right, Shino? Now go about your business and don't worry about a thing."

Shino didn't have any questions for Naruto, so he just left.

Naruto's sigh of relief quickly turned into a gasp when he heard someone behind him.

"Naruto?"

"Eep!" He spun around. "Sh- Shikamaru!"

Shikamaru looked from Naruto to the path Shino had taken and back to Naruto. "Is this what I think it is?" he asked, raising his brow.

"That depends," Naruto told him. "Wh- what does it look like to you?"

Shikamaru narrowed his eyes suspiciously at Naruto. "Well… it sort of looks like you just hypnotized Shino."

* * *

Busted.

Please review! ^-^


	24. Realization

**Chapter 24: Realization**

He knew.

"But that couldn't be what it looks like, could it?" He gave Naruto a knowing look. "It looks obvious, but that would only raise further questions I have for you. So please tell me it isn't what it looks like."

He could have lied and come up with some crazy far-fetched story, but rather than fabricate another lie, Naruto did perhaps the first wise thing he had done all day and told the truth.

"Well… uh… Well… Yes, actually." Naruto sighed. "I did hypnotize Shino."

"And no doubt several others," Shikamaru assumed. "That's why several of our friends are acting weird. It's hard to overlook when Kiba starts eating from trashcans."

"So you noticed that?"

"It's kind of hard not to." Shikamaru folded his arms. "Ok. How'd you do it? You've never been able to do anything like this before so what changed?"

Naruto took out the necklace and showed it to Shikamaru. "I used this. I got this at a trinket shop on the way back from a mission."

"This is what allowed you to use hypnosis on people?" Knowing this must have been the object, Shikamaru made sure not to look at it directly. He only gave it a glance, then looked at Naruto's chest to make sure he didn't fall under the same spell.

"Yeah, that's right. The jewel came in a box with instructions. Well, not really instructions. Other than explaining that it would give me the power to hypnotize others, I had to figure the rest out on my own. I just did what the people do on TV and at magic shows. And it worked."

"I guess I should be thankful I've been so busy lately, otherwise you would have done the same thing to me. That would have been a drag."

"Not really," said Naruto. "Most people don't even know what they're doing. And going under is very peaceful, apparently. They just fall asleep and wake up without remembering how strange they acted or remembering that I put them under."

"I meant having me act a certain way," said Shikamaru. "Even if I don't remember doing embarrassing things, other people would see me do it. The fact that I acted like a fool is the thing I have a problem with."

"Good point. And even if they don't remember being hypnotized, they seem to be aware of what they're doing after they wake up to a certain point. Shino knows what he's doing but not why he's doing it or why he can't stop. But I fixed it. Now he won't be hugging people anymore."

"But you gave him a new command, so the problem is not solved. And how do you think he feels about being manipulated?" Shikamaru pointed out. "I hate it when people try using Genjutsu on me in battle and I bet you're a similar way. Imagine how they must feel."

"But it's not a jutsu."

"Doesn't matter. You're still manipulating them. If anything, this is worse because under Genjutsu, people don't start acting like dogs or chickens."

Naruto realized Shikamaru spoke the truth. "Oh, you have a point there."

Shikamaru gestured to the jewel, giving it another quick glance then looking Naruto in the eye. "So this is it? You just picked this up at a shop and that was it? Just the jewel and your own stupidity allows you to use it to hypnotize others?"

"Yeah. The jewel came in a box and that was it. I figured out how to use it on my own. It was a rocky start, but I got it to work."

Shikamaru found the whole thing to be a bit too simple. "You just bought this at a shop? Seems weird to me."

"That's the thing," said Naruto, tucking the jewel back under his jacket. "The lady at the store gave it to me. She didn't charge me for it."

"She let you have it for free?"

"Yeah. She said it was a reward because I was her first customer in a week."

Shikamaru wrinkled his nose. "You were her first customer in a week and she just gave you something for free? That doesn't strike you as odd? How would she make any profit if she just gives stuff away for free? That should have clued you in on something."

"I thought she was just being nice. She didn't charge me for the candy bar either."

Shikamaru sighed. "Read the situation. Why is it you can only do that at certain times of the day and not others? I guess your sense comes and goes."

"I'm not an idiot, if that's what you're saying."

"No, but I am saying that if someone hasn't had any customers in a while and hands you something for free, you should be suspicious."

"Can't you just believe in people's best?" Naruto asked with a shrug. "I figured she was being nice. And if someone gives you something for free, you're more likely to come back, right? She was a sweet old lady who said she wanted to help me out."

"If that was the case and she really was trying to help you out by giving that to you, then she must have thought you knew how to use it without getting into trouble. She probably thought you wouldn't misuse it."

"Misuse it? I didn't think I was misusing it. I was just having some fun."

"By making Kiba think he's an actual dog and have him rummage around in trashcans for the public to see? What if his friends saw him acting like that? Or a girl he likes? He'll never get his reputation back."

Naruto shut his eyes in horror. "Oh, crap. I hadn't thought of that. I just wanted to have some fun. I didn't think I was doing anything too mean to them. This is tame compared to the other things that crossed my mind."

"Then I shudder to think what else you would have had them do." Shikamaru narrowed his eyes again. "Did you do something to Choji? He's acting normal, but if you did…"

"No, I swear I didn't. I didn't do anything to Choji."

"Good." Shikamaru counted on his fingers. "So other than Shino and Kiba, who else have you done this to?"

"Well, let's see." As Naruto listed names, Shikamaru tallied them off with his fingers. "There's Shino and Kiba. Then there's Neji. He was the first. And Sai… Lee… And Gaara."

Shikamaru held up five fingers and as he started to raise a sixth, he stopped and gave Naruto a wide-eyed expression. "Did you say Gaara?"

"Yeah." Then Naruto gasped. "Gaara! I left him alone back there!"

"What did you have him do?" Shikamaru looked worried.

"Nothing! Well…"

"Please tell me you didn't…"

"It was nothing that bad."

"I hope it's not as bad as I'm thinking."

Naruto took Shikamaru to where he had last left Gaara but he wasn't there. Naruto looked around and found Gaara on a bench on the quiet side of the street.

There was very little foot traffic which made it the perfect napping spot for Gaara. All his energy had been sapped out of him and he just wanted to sit down. As soon as he did so, his body felt heavy and he wanted to lie down. When Naruto found him, he was semi-conscious, drifting in a daydream.

"Gaara? Gaara!" Naruto shook him. "Come on, sit up. Get up, Gaara."

Gaara reluctantly sat up with a yawn.

"What did you do to him?" Shikamaru asked.

"I don't know. I thought I snapped him out of it but he keeps falling asleep."

As they were speaking, Gaara's eyes started to close again and he had to be shaken awake.

It was worse than before. Gaara being more alert as they walked around gave Naruto hope that he would be able to shake it off, but that wasn't the case. Gaara was even more tired than before.

Naruto was kicking himself for leaving Gaara alone. He was only gone for a minute but it was enough to wear Gaara out.

He pulled Gaara to his feet but, unable to stand, Gaara fell against Naruto, forcing him to support the listless redhead.

"Gaara..!" Naruto struggled to keep him from falling. "Use your legs! You can stand up on your own, can't you?"

Gaara was completely limp. He was in no condition to walk, let alone go to a meeting.

"Naruto, why did you do this to him?" Shikamaru asked. "You know he has a meeting today, don't you? Surely, he told you that, or maybe you did this before he had the chance."

"I told you, I didn't do this on purpose. I thought I snapped him out of it, but he keeps falling asleep. I have no idea what went wrong. None of the other commands are still in effect, so I have no idea what this is."

"Could it be a side-effect from the hypnosis?"

"I don't know. I have no idea why he's like this." Naruto started to take out the jewel.

"What are you doing?" Shikamaru asked, seeing the jewel.

"I've got an idea. Maybe I can make him have more energy."

"Naruto, I don't think…"

"Gaara look over here." Naruto started swinging the jewel in front of his face while Shikamaru looked the other way. "Keep your eyes on this jewel. Focus on the jewel."

Gaara gave the jewel a tired look.

"As you watch the jewel, you feel yourself getting very sleepy. You're getting sleepy. Very sleepy."

Gaara let his eyelids droop. His eyes closed and Gaara slumped onto the bench behind him.

With Gaara out like a light, Naruto tried putting his plan into action. "Gaara, when I snap my fingers, you will wake up and be full of energy. You will not be sleepy at all. You will wake rested and refreshed."

Naruto snapped his fingers but Gaara didn't move.

"Gaara?"

He snored.

"Gaara!" Naruto started shaking him. "Gaara, wake up!"

Shikamaru turned around. "Naruto, what were you thinking?"

"I thought this could give him more energy. I mean, if I can make Kiba think he's a dog, why couldn't I make Gaara more alert?" Naruto made sure the jewel was safely tucked away before pulling Gaara to his feet. Gaara's eyes were still closed so even if the necklace was exposed, he couldn't see it. There was no reason for Gaara to be this tired. He should have been wide wake. "Come on, Gaara, wake up."

Gaara opened his eyes briefly, feeling himself being pulled off the bench. He had no strength in his body. If Naruto hadn't been holding on to him, Gaara would have fallen on his face in the dirt. Naruto forced him to stand, but Gaara remained as limp as a rag doll. Every time Naruto tried to make Gaara stand on his own, he would start to fall over.

Wrapping both arms around Gaara's torso, Naruto tried to keep Gaara standing. "I don't get it," he moaned. "It should have worked. No matter what I do, Gaara just wants to sleep. This doesn't make any sense. I don't understand why he's like this."

Shikamaru helped support Gaara by slinging his arm over his shoulder. "We have to get him off the street. Let's take him back to your place."

"Ok."

"And from there, we can get help. We can tell Lady Tsunade-"

"No!" Naruto shouted. "We can't tell her about this."

"Why not?"

"Because she'll blame me for this."

"You are to blame," Shikamaru growled. "It is your fault."

"We can probably do this on our own. Please, Shikamaru?"

Rolling his eyes, Shikamaru complied. "Fine. For now." It was Naruto's neck on the line, anyway.

Shikamaru and Naruto helped walk Gaara back to the apartment. On the way there, Naruto noticed Neji and called to him. Neji went back to being Naruto's servant and helped them get Gaara inside.

"Why'd you bring him?" Shikamaru asked, pointing at Neji.

"An experiment." Naruto closed the door, then snapped his fingers in Neji's face. "Sleep."

Neji fell backwards into Shikamaru who had to drop Gaara in order to catch him. Thankfully, Gaara was sitting on the floor so he wasn't injured. Shikamaru lowered Neji to the ground then went back to help Gaara into a chair.

"What did you do that for?" Shikamaru asked Naruto.

"I want to see if the same thing happens to Neji when I snap him out of it. That way we'll know."

Shikamaru rolled his eyes. "This is your doing. I'm just a bystander here."

Naruto grabbed Neji's arms and dragged him across the floor.

After getting Gaara settled in the next room, Shikamaru went back to find Naruto doing this and asked, "Why are you doing it that way?"

"I'm trying to get him over to the couch, but I put him in a trance across the room. I know I should have waited until he was closer, but…" Naruto dragged him a little further. "But it's a real pain. Neji's so limp, it's making him heavy and hard to drag him."

"Then why don't you make it easier by telling him he's stiff as a board? Or better yet, tell him to walk to the couch himself?" Shikamaru suggested. "It'll be easier than dragging him."

Naruto hadn't considered that until now. "Neji, stand up."

Neji stood, keeping his eyes closed.

"Walk over to the couch behind you."

Neji turned around and, with his eyes still closed, walked across the room. Naruto told him to stop as he got closer and told him to lie down on the couch. Neji did as he was told.

Naruto wouldn't have Neji as a servant anymore, but if it was to help Gaara, he was willing to let Neji return to normal.

"Neji, when you wake up from your trance, you will no longer be my servant. You will return to your normal self and not remember being hypnotized." Naruto hoped this would be enough. He snapped his fingers. "Awake."

Neji opened his eyes and saw Naruto and Shikamaru staring at him. "What's going on?" he asked.

"Are you alright?" Naruto asked. "How do you feel? Are you tired? In pain?"

Neji sat up. "No, but I am looking at a pain. What am I doing in your apartment? What's going on?"

Neji didn't seem to be like Gaara. He wasn't tired. He had returned to normal, which left Naruto confused. So confused that he couldn't come up with an explanation for him being here.

"Well?" Neji pressed.

"Uh, well, you see, uh…"

"Naruto found you near the training grounds," said Shikamaru. "You were unconscious so he decided to bring you back here to see if there was anything he could do. He couldn't just leave you there. I saw him carrying you inside and asked him what was going on. I told him he should have taken you to the hospital or something, but he didn't think it was that serious. You woke up pretty quick so I'm guessing you just got a bump on the head by something."

If Naruto had given the explanation, Neji would have been suspicious. Since Shikamaru had been the first to speak, and knowing he wasn't the type to normally lie to his friends, Neji took his word for it. Besides, it sounded plausible. Lee could have kicked him in the head and not realized as he was going by. Given the strange things going on in this village lately, anything was possible.

"Well… Alright." Neji started to stand up. "I think I'm ok, so I'm going to go."

"Fine," said Shikamaru. "Just be careful."

Neji left the apartment acting normal.

Which left Naruto and Shikamaru baffled as to why Gaara was in such a state. They had no explanation, but theories. Gaara was just plain tired.

"Any bright ideas?" Naruto asked, looking down at Gaara asleep on his bed.

"You already know my idea on the subject but you refuse to go along with it."

"There's got to be something else we can try."

"Whatever it is, you better do it soon." Shikamaru looked at the clock. "Gaara's meeting is in less than an hour."

Naruto flinched. "Ohh! This is bad!"

He didn't know what else to do. If Gaara was tired, perhaps they should have let him sleep it off. If the meeting was that close, then they couldn't afford to let Gaara take a nap without the possibility of him waking more tired than before. The only other option he could think of was simply keeping Gaara awake until the meeting was over, then let him sleep all he wanted.

"Come on, Shikamaru," Naruto said, pulled Gaara to his feet. "Help me out here. We have to keep him awake. Help him stay awake!"

Shikamaru sighed heavily. "Ah, this is so troublesome."

* * *

Grasping his shoulders, Shikamaru walked Gaara around the kitchen as he gave him math problems. He hoped the movement would help him stay awake and the math problems would help keep his mind focused. It was all a desperate attempt to help keep him awake, but it wasn't a solution to the problem.

"Five times nine, Gaara. What's five times nine?"

"Forty-five."

"Good. Five times six?"

"Seven… eight…"

"No, times six. I'm not asking you to count. What is five times six?"

"Times six..?"

"Yes. What is five times six?"

"Uh… It's…Th…" His head started to bob.

"Come on, Gaara, think! Concentrate. Five times six!"

"Thirty. It's thirty."

"Right. Now try five times…"

"I don't think this is working, Shikamaru," Naruto complained. "And not just because watching you guys pace my kitchen is making me dizzy."

"I'm trying to stimulate his mind. It might help keep him awake." Shikamaru pushed Gaara around the room, making him walk.

"But won't the math problems just make him sleepier? I mean, they tell you to count sheep before bed."

"That's why these are math problems and not counting."

"And won't the walking around just tire him out more?"

"If you have a better idea, I'd like to hear it!"

Naruto groaned. "I tried all my good ideas. Every time I tell him to snap out of it, he just goes back to sleep. I'm worried about trying to hypnotize him all over again because he might not wake up at all and go into a coma."

"Stop trying to fix this with more hypnosis," snapped Shikamaru. "That's what got you into this mess in the first place. Anything you try to do through it is just going to exasperate the problem."

"And it would probably make it worse, too."

"That's what I just said, Naruto."

"But I've been trying to snap him out of this. Logically, if hypnosis started this whole thing, then I should end the hypnosis. I tried putting him back into a trance and told him to wake up with a lot of energy, but that didn't work. I told him he wasn't under hypnosis anymore and that didn't work."

"You know what might work?" Shikamaru said as he made Gaara walk around the table for the hundredth time. "Tell the Hokage and come clean. Ask her for help."

"I told you, I can't! You know how much trouble I could get in for this?"

"About as much trouble as you trying to fix it yourself which clearly isn't working."

"We'll come up with something. You're smart."

"And I'm telling you how to fix this!"

"But-"

"Gaara has a meeting in less than an hour and he's not getting any better. He can't show up in this state."

"But we can't tell Grandma Tsunade."

"I'm not seeing another option here."

Naruto started to pull out the necklace. "Shikamaru, you will find a way and not tell..."

"Don't even," Shikamaru said with a glare.

Naruto put the necklace away. "It was worth a shot."

Gaara moaned tiredly. "Can I stop?" he asked sleepily.

"No, you have to stay awake." Shikamaru gave him a shove. "Come on, what's seven times four?"

"I don't know."

"Yes, you do. Think. Seven times four."

"Maybe we should just let him sleep so he can recover his energy," suggested Naruto.

"You said before that you were worried that he could fall into a deeper sleep by doing that."

"I was worried about that, but maybe that's what he needs."

"What he needs is help and we're not giving him the help that he needs. I say you get over this fear of being punished and tell the Hokage what you did so Gaara can get better."

"Are we sure we've tried everything?"

Shikamaru took his hands off Gaara to throw in the air. "Naruto, he cannot attend a meeting like this! Face facts! He is not getting better doing what we're doing now. We need to try something else and if that means telling the Hokage the truth, then so be it."

THUD!

Gaara had fallen to the floor. Without Shikamaru to help support him, Gaara didn't have the strength to hold himself up.

"Crap!" Shikamaru bent down and picked Gaara up, shaking his shoulder. "Come on, wake up! Wake up!"

Gaara moaned but wouldn't open his eyes.

"You have to stay awake, Gaara!" Shikamaru pried his eyelids open with his fingers. "Naruto, look at him! We need to get him help!"

"You're right. You're right. Let's just pick him up and bring him to her office."

"Wouldn't it be easier to ask her to come here rather than carry him outside?"

"If we leave him here, he could get worse."

"Which is why one of us will stay here and the other one will go and get her."

Naruto paused. "Oh, yeah."

Shikamaru passed Gaara off to Naruto. "I may end up regretting this, but I'll go and get her while you stay and watch over Gaara. Part of me feels you might chicken out so it might be better for me to go."

"Gee, thanks for the confidence."

Shikamaru walked to the door. "Keep an eye on him. I'll be back as soon as I can." With that, Shikamaru left.

Naruto felt Gaara rest his head on his chest. Naruto half dragged, half walked Gaara over to the couch and sat down. Gaara snuggled against him and started to drift off to sleep.

Naruto waited. Time ticked by and there was no sign of Shikamaru. He waited and waited, but he never showed up. It shouldn't take this long for him to get back, especially if he told the Hokage it involved the visiting Kazekage.

Thinking there was a problem, Naruto decided to go look for him.

He felt Gaara slid and quickly grabbed him. He couldn't leave Gaara here by himself. He had to take Gaara with him, but if he couldn't walk, it would hinder his search. This posed a problem.

Getting another idea, Naruto bent in front of the couch, presenting his back to Gaara. Gaara flopped on top of him and Naruto stood up, wrapping his hands under Gaara's legs. He would piggyback Gaara through the village. It wouldn't be very inconspicuous, but it would be faster than making him walk and possibly having to drag him all over the place.

"Ok, Gaara, let's go find Shikamaru."

* * *

Please review! ^-^


	25. Chaos

**Chapter 25: Chaos**

Naruto carried Gaara down the stairs and peered around the corner of the building. The street wasn't too busy. Not too many people should notice them.

"You ok, Gaara?" Naruto asked the boy on his back.

"Mmm." Gaara gave a sleepy moan.

"Hang in there. We'll find Shikamaru." Naruto darted into the street with Gaara dozing on his back. To keep from being noticed, Naruto tried to hide around corners as much as possible instead of running straight down the street.

Shikamaru wasn't nearby so Naruto moved closer to the Hokage building, figuring he must already be there. Maybe the people inside told Shikamaru to wait to speak with her because she was busy preparing for the meeting. Even if he told them it was an emergency, they probably still told him to wait. That must have been what was taking so long.

Every now and then he felt Gaara slide on his back and had to stop to make sure he didn't fall off. He hoped they didn't run into Kankuro. Since it was so close to the meeting, he must have been out searching for his younger brother. Naruto didn't mean to worry him, but he couldn't let Kankuro find Gaara in this condition.

"If I thought he threw a fit before, I can only imagine what he'd do to me if he found Gaara like this."

Keeping an eye out for anyone he knew, Naruto moved quickly from one building to the next. He didn't want to use the rooftops just in case Gaara fell. He didn't want to put Gaara in danger.

There weren't too many people down this street either. He started to jog down the street, then quickly ducked behind a building when he saw Sakura coming his way. Knowing he couldn't stay put, Naruto went down an alley and out into another street.

"Naruto!"

He flinched, instinctively hiding behind a folding sign in front of a store.

"Naruto, help!"

Realizing it was Shikamaru's voice, he stepped out from behind the sign.

What he saw made him want to laugh and shut his eyes in horror at the same time.

Shikamaru was in front of him with Lee. Dancing.

Lee was the one doing most of the actual dancing. He had grabbed Shikamaru's hands and was forcing him to dance with him in a violent tango. Shikamaru had to step with him or fall on the ground. Lee was moving so quickly and pulling his arms so roughly that more than once Shikamaru's feet left the ground and he was dragged across the dirt.

It was less of a dance and more of Lee swinging his partner from side to side while he tried to get away.

"He won't stop!" Shikamaru shouted, still trying to pull his hands free. "He just grabbed me and wouldn't let go!"

Lee snared him before he even reached the Hokage's building. Shikamaru had been forced to dance ever since.

"Lee, knock it off!" Naruto ordered him, but Lee wouldn't listen.

"I tried using my shadow on him, but he has my hands. I can't do anything." Lee swung Shikamaru into the air and back down. Shikamaru could feel his shoulders popping. Lee had some rhythm but his method was painful. Shikamaru tried to keep up, but even in dance, Lee went overboard. "Help me!"

"Uh… Ok. Uh…" Naruto looked around. "Um…"

"Just snap him out of it!" Shikamaru shouted.

"Oh, right. Of course." In order to do that, Naruto had to set Gaara down. He balanced Gaara on his back with one hand as he raised the other and snapped his fingers. "Lee, sleep."

Lee didn't do anything but dance.

"Naruto!" Shikamaru shouted again.

"I'm trying! He must not have heard me!"

"Do something!"

"O- ok…" Naruto stepped closer. "Lee…"

Lee made a grab for his hand. To avoid being grabbed, Naruto jumped back. Lee quickly grabbed Shikamaru's hand again and continued his dance. He flung Shikamaru over his head and back to earth. He pulled Shikamaru in close, pressing his body close to his as he danced, his legs kicking Shikamaru as he struggled to keep up.

This didn't look like dancing anymore. Not when one partner was fighting to get away and the other one kept stepping on him.

Gaara lifted his head. "What's going on?" he mumbled.

"Lee's forcing Shikamaru to dance with him but he doesn't want to," Naruto explained. "If I put you down, I can use my Shadow Clones to stop him."

Gaara blinked sleepily at the two ninja before them. "I'll help."

He raised his hand. The ground under Lee's feet began to move. Sand was beginning to rise from the earth. Gaara was using the few grains of sand he had on hand to ground up the minerals in the earth to make more sand. He intended to trap Lee's feet to keep him from moving.

Slowly, more sand started to rise and wrap around Lee's ankles. Gaara twitched his fingers and the sand hardened around Lee's feet, stopping his legs from moving.

No longer being kicked, Shikamaru was able to find his footing and tried pulling his hands free. Lee kept swinging his arms, making Shikamaru spin. Lee refused to stop dancing just because his legs were rooted to the spot.

"Enough, Lee!" Shikamaru said, pulling in the opposite direction. "Stop it!"

Gaara's arm suddenly dropped and the sand around Lee's feet did the same. Lee began to dance as enthusiastically as before.

"I'm sorry…" mumbled Gaara. "I can't… anymore…"

Naruto felt Gaara slide and bent to keep Gaara from falling off his back. "Gaara?"

"I'm so tired."

"Gaara."

"Naruto!" Shikamaru shouted. "Put Gaara down and snap Lee out of it!"

"R- right." Naruto walked over to a building and lowered Gaara to the ground. "Stay here. I'll be right back."

Naruto got as close as he could to Lee and tried getting his attention. "Lee, slee-"

"Get them off!"

Before he could get out the trigger, someone else showed up and ran into Naruto at full speed.

"Now what?!"

Shino landed on top of Naruto with a panic-stricken look on his face. "They're everywhere! I can't get rid of them!"

"What?"

"The bugs!" Shino got off Naruto, rubbing his arms. "I hate them. I'm scared of them. They won't leave me alone. They're everywhere I go."

Naruto sighed. "Oh, yeah. I told you that, didn't I?"

Shino looked uncomfortable in his own skin. He kept rubbing his arms and looking around anxiously. Naruto felt bad about giving him this command now.

"Alright, I'll fix this. Shino…"

Before he could do anything, Shino screamed and ran from a fly.

"Shino, wait!"

"Never mind him!" Shikamaru cried. "Lee's the one who's killing me here!"

"One thing at a time!"

"Now, Naruto!"

"Alright, alright!" Naruto tried getting close to Lee again. "Lee-"

He grabbed Naruto's wrist and swung him around, now having two dance partners.

"Lee, stop!"

Being swung from one arm was worse than being swung by one. Shikamaru was dragged across the ground and thrown into Naruto.

Naruto kept trying to snap his fingers and say the trigger but Lee didn't hear a word he was saying. "Lee, stop it!"

Lee kept dancing, swinging them around like tennis rackets. Finally, Lee lost his grip on Shikamaru mid-swing and flung him into a building. He grabbed Naruto by both hands and whipped him around as he had done Shikamaru before. Now Naruto couldn't snap at all.

"Lee! Stop! This hurts! Lee! Lee!"

"I'll save you, sir!" Sai came flying out of the air to rescue him.

"Never mind!" Naruto shouted. "I'd rather have Lee!"

Sai kicked Lee in the face and scooped Naruto into his arms. He carried Naruto far from Lee and set him on the ground. "Are you alright, Naruto, sir? Did that green freak hurt you? I hope not."

"I'm fine, Sai."

"I knew nothing could keep down the greatest ninja in the world," Sai gushed.

Naruto growled in annoyance.

With Shikamaru free from Lee's grasp, he must have been on his way to see the Hokage now. Which meant Naruto could go back to keeping an eye on Gaara.

He went over to the redhead and pulled him to his feet. "Are you ok, Gaara?"

Gaara stood on his feet, nodding. "I'm ok." He didn't seem injured, but he wasn't fine. He swayed on his feet and his eyes kept drooping.

Naruto helped walk Gaara further away from Lee, worried he might grab Gaara next if he was within reach. Sai followed closely, as usual.

"Sai, could you not follow me so close?"

"I can't stand to be apart from you," Sai said, cupping his hands together. "You're the best ninja in the world and I admire you so much. I simply adore everything you do."

Naruto wanted to punch him but didn't, and not just because Gaara was resting his head on Naruto's shoulder. Though he was able to stand, Gaara was still very tired. He had to lean against Naruto for support.

"Gaara?" Naruto asked gently.

He yawned and tried to make himself comfortable on Naruto's shoulder, falling asleep on his feet.

Naruto scooped Gaara into his arms and carried him further down the street. He didn't know what he was doing. He just wanted to keep Gaara safe.

"You look so cool carrying Gaara like that," Sai gushed. "Ah, it would be an honor if you would carry me like that."

"Alright, that's it." Naruto stopped walking. "Stay there, Sai. I'll be right back."

Naruto carried Gaara over to another building and set him down. He leaned Gaara against the side of the building and gave his shoulder a little shake. "You going to be ok here for a minute, Gaara?"

Gaara snored.

"Gaara, can you hear me?"

"Uh-huh."

"You going to be ok here for a minute?"

Gaara nodded his head. "As long as I have sand… I can do anything…" he mumbled sleepily.

Figuring he must have been dreaming, Naruto ignored Gaara's sleepy mumbles. He was probably sleep-talking anyway. He was snoring a moment ago.

Naruto stood up and pulled Sai away by the arm. "Sai…"

"Naruto?"

"What could it possibly be this time?!" he shouted to the newcomer.

Neji frowned at him. "Sorry if I caught you at a bad time, but why is Gaara sitting unconscious over there?"

Naruto looked from Gaara back to Neji. "I told him to wait there."

Neji gave him a suspicious look. "What did you do?"

"Nothing. Stop assuming things."

"Yes," said Sai, cupping his hands to his face. He looked like a lovesick schoolgirl. "Naruto can do whatever he wants. He's so amazing, isn't it? You're just jealous you're not as incredible as he is."

Neji raised his brow at Sai. "I'm on my way to train with my uncle right now and it's sad when this is not the strangest thing I've seen on my way there."

"Everything's fine!" Naruto shouted. "Sai, get over here."

He pulled Sai away from Neji, but Neji listened in on their conversation, curious. Naruto wouldn't be this emotional if something weren't going on.

Naruto snapped his fingers. "Sai, sleep."

Sai closed his eyes.

As did Neji.

"When you wake up, you will no longer be my admirer. You will be your normal self," Naruto told Sai, unaware that Neji had been caught up in the hypnosis as well. "You will be blunt and speak your mind and do whatever you want."

Sai and Neji nodded their heads.

Naruto snapped his fingers. "Awake."

They opened their eyes.

"Well, Sai, how do you feel?" Naruto asked him.

Sai cocked his head to one side. "What do you mean?"

"Do you feel like following me around?"

"No more than usual," Sai told him. "Why?"

Unsure of what this meant, Naruto asked him another question to test if Sai had returned to his normal self. "Do you admire me?"

"If you're asking if we're friends, I would like to think so. What's this about?"

"Nothing. Nothing." Naruto was so relieved. "Just go about your business."

"Alright." Sai scratched his head. "I feel a little funny. I'm not sure how to describe it. I'm just not sure what I've been doing up until now."

"Go figure it out somewhere else," Naruto told him.

Sai walked away, trying to figure out how he got here in the first place. He felt like he was forgetting something but he wasn't sure what.

Naruto sighed. "Finally. I'm glad that's over."

"You're certainly agitated," said Neji.

"I'm fine, Neji."

"Normally when people say that it means they're not and you're no exception to that rule. Although you tend to think you are most of the time. Running around like an idiot and thinking you can get away with things because of who you are, though you have no real social power or status."

Naruto looked at him. "Where did that come from?"

Neji shrugged. "I just felt like speaking my mind. But it's no secret that I think you're an idiot. I'm still pissed you beat me in the exams a couple years back. But I am a Jonin now and you're not, so I think we see where we stand."

Naruto was confused and angry, but didn't shout back. What had gotten into Neji all of a sudden? He was never this blunt before. Which led to a startling realization.

"Neji…"

Neji pulled something off Naruto's jacket. "You had a hair on you and it was bugging me."

"Neji…" Naruto knew something must have happened, and not just because Neji liked to keep his hands to himself.

Neji spun around in a full circle.

"Why'd you do that?"

"I felt like it." Neji started to grin. "I feel really weird, but good weird. I feel like a weight's been lifted off my shoulders. I feel very free."

"Are you saying you're going to say and do whatever comes to your mind?"

Neji nodded. "Sounds about right. I don't know why this feeling's come over me all of a sudden, but I like it."

When Naruto gave Sai the command to be blunt, he had no idea that Neji would pick it up as well. He thought he was only talking to Sai, not Neji as well. He knew Sai was the kind of person to say and do whatever came to mind, but not Neji.

"The same trigger… The same command…" Naruto gasped. "I didn't snap you out of it completely. You're still hypnotized! Which means the triggers still work! Oh, no! I only meant to give that command to Sai, not you!"

The command also worked differently for Neji. His mind interpreted to command differently than Sai's. Put simply, Neji no longer had any inhibitions. He was free to do whatever he wanted because he could no longer think of consequences to his actions. This left Neji with a feeling of absolute freedom. He could do anything he wanted.

And he would because the part of his brain that held reason and told him not to do whatever he pleased had been shut off. Neji would now act upon any and all whims.

The best part of this for Neji was the fact that without being able to think of any possible consequences, he felt no stress. He had no negativity anywhere in his body, leaving him with a very giddy feeling. He had become happy-go-lucky as an effect of the command.

Which meant that Neji was a completely different person now.

* * *

Oh, great.

Please review! ^-^


	26. Feeling Free

**Chapter 26: Feeling Free**

"I'm going to do a cartwheel." Neji did as he said he would. For no reason other than for the sake of doing it.

"Neji, you might what to…"

"I'm going to go punch my uncle in the face."

"What? No!" Naruto grabbed his arm. "Don't do that!"

"Why not? I feel like it."

"But it will really piss him off. What about the main branch and all that stuff? You don't think that could ruin things for you?"

"I don't care." Neji started walking, pulling Naruto behind him. "I don't care about anything. I just want to do what I want. Feels good."

"Let's think for a second."

"Don't wanna." Neji pulled his arm free and started walking towards his uncle's home.

"Neji!" Naruto started to chase after him, then remembered Gaara.

He went back and pulled Gaara to his feet. Gaara stood for a moment, then closed his eyes and started to fall over. He mumbled something in his sleep but Naruto couldn't make it out. He lifted Gaara into his arms and chased after Neji.

"Neji, come back!"

Neji stopped but not because Naruto asked him to. Shino was running in circles around him, fleeing a butterfly.

"Get it away! I'm scared!"

Neji stopped to stare at him and laugh. "You look pathetic, Shino. Very manly to run from a butterfly."

"It's a bug and I'm scared!"

Naruto felt Gaara shift slightly in his arms. He mumbled something else then snored.

"You ok, Gaara?"

Gaara opened his eyes. "Yeah…"

"Can I set you down for a second?"

"Sure."

Naruto put Gaara down and he was able to stand on his own. He yawned and stretched and ruffled his hair. "What's all the racket?" he asked sleepily.

This was an improvement. Naruto was thrilled to see Gaara standing on his own. Apparently, all he needed was a nap.

Hearing Neji tease Shino again, Naruto hurried through an explanation. "Neji's lost it and I'm trying to get him to listen to me and Shino's afraid of a butterfly."

Gaara gave Shino a tired look. "I thought he was an entomologist."

"A what?"

"He likes bugs and studies them," Gaara said softly.

"Oh. Yeah, he is."

Gaara yawned again. "Why's he afraid of a butterfly then?" Gaara rubbed his eyes, trying to wake up.

"It's a long story." Naruto had to get both of them under control. "Gaara, can you help me stop either of them from leaving?"

Gaara nodded his head. "I can try." Gaara lifted his hand and faced the two ninja.

Frowning in concentration, he made the ground under them move. Little by little, sand started to rise up from the soil. He was making more sand and let it gather under their feet.

Neji started to walk away and Gaara curled his fingers, making the sand move suddenly to the side. It was like yanking a carpet out from under him. Neji and Shino both fell over.

"Thanks, Gaara."

Gaara's eyes drooped slightly. "You're welcome…"

While Neji was on the ground, he started moving his arms and legs back and forth, making a sand angel. Shino quickly got to his feet, muttering about the possibility of ants crawling on him from being in the soil.

Naruto stepped forward. "Ok, guys, listen up. I want you to focus on me for just a second, ok?"

"Bugs, bugs, bugs, bugs, bugs," Shino muttered over and over again. "I can't stand this. They're everywhere. Creepy crawling things…"

Neji stood up and put a handful of soil on Shino's head and laughed as he freaked out. "What?" he called after him. "At most, there's only one worm on you."

"Get it off!" Shino ran in circles again.

Naruto glared at him. "Neji!"

Neji wiped his hands off on Naruto's jacket. "What? It's funny to watch."

"Yeah, it might be, but…" Naruto shook his head. "Never mind that. Neji, slee- ow!"

Neji started pinching Naruto's cheeks with his thumb and index fingers.

"What are you doing?" Naruto struggled to say and his cheeks were pulled in either direction.

"You sound funny," Neji snickered.

Naruto slapped his hands away. "Did that command also make you a complete idiot?"

"Between us, you're the dumb one," Neji told him. "Your cheeks just looked so inviting. I had to do it."

Naruto growled. "I really think that command made you stupid."

Neji shrugged. "I'm just doing what I feel like. It's very freeing. I feel like a whole new person."

"Yeah, no kidding." Naruto snapped his fingers. "Sleep."

Neji was off doing something else now and hadn't heard him.

Naruto rubbed his temples and summoned Gaara. "Come on, let's go after him."

Gaara didn't move. He just stood where he was, blinking tiredly.

Naruto grabbed his wrist and pulled him along. "Come on!"

Gaara was losing energy again. The short time he spent standing had been very taxing on him. Feeling drained, Gaara struggled to keep up as Naruto pulled him down the street. Naruto halted, causing Gaara to slam into him from behind. He almost fell over but he managed to stay standing.

Shino found the butterfly again and was screaming his head off as Neji laughed at him.

"Guys!" Naruto called but neither of them were paying attention. "Gaara, can you use your sand to bring them over here and hold them down?"

He didn't respond.

"Gaara?"

Gaara had his eyes closed but he was still standing. Naruto poked him and Gaara almost fell over. He was perfectly balanced, falling asleep yet again. Feeling himself lean to one side, Gaara opened his eyes and stopped himself from falling. He closed his eyes again and rested his head on Naruto's shoulder.

"Just when I thought you were better. Gaara, come on."

Gaara opened his eyes, giving Naruto a tired look. His eyes started to close again. He had no strength.

"Gaara, please stay awake."

His eyes were closed, but Gaara was saying something. It appeared that Gaara was trying to answer him, but Naruto couldn't make it out. He moved closer and told Gaara to speak up. Gaara spoke a little louder, but what he was saying confused Naruto even further.

He was counting.

"Gaara?" Naruto gave his shoulder a shake. "What are you doing?"

Gaara lifted his head but didn't open his eyes. "Hide and seek…"

Was he remembering what they did today? Naruto had no idea why he was doing this.

He shook him again and Gaara opened his eyes. He looked at Naruto. "Sorry," he mumbled. "I think I was having a dream…"

"You're either daydreaming or sleepwalking and I can't be bothered to find out which it is right now." Naruto looked back at Neji and Shino. "I'll just use my clones to grab them and make them hold still."

Gaara fell against Naruto, falling asleep yet again. He tried to climb onto Naruto's back to get more comfortable but he was too tired to pull himself up. He started sliding and would have fallen if Naruto hadn't caught him.

Balancing Gaara, Naruto summoned some clones to stop Neji and Shino. The trigger should work even if a clone performed it.

When Naruto unleashed them, Neji greeted them happily with his fists. He didn't stop until all the clones pursuing him were popped. The ones chasing Shino couldn't get him to stop screaming long enough to hear the trigger.

Naruto focused all his attention on Gaara. He begged him to wake up but the only response he could get was Gaara chewing on the collar of his jacket. He wouldn't open his eyes anymore, but sometimes he would mumble. When he wasn't doing that, he was trying to snuggle against Naruto in an attempt to get comfortable.

The last of Naruto's clones popped and now Neji was going after him. He stopped when he saw Gaara trying to sleep in Naruto's lap.

"Aw, ain't that cute?" Neji cooed.

Naruto tried the trigger again. He snapped his fingers but Neji talked over him so he never heard him speak.

"Why don't you give him a good-night kiss?" Neji teased. "His cheeks are so kissable."

Naruto snarled. "Just shut the hell up, Neji!"

Neji bent down and shoved Gaara in Naruto's face. "Kissy, kissy. Pucker up."

Naruto took a swing at Neji's head and almost hit Gaara. "I'm sorry I ever messed with your head. You're weird like this. But you weren't supposed to hear that command. I thought I snapped you out of it."

Neji lowered Gaara, cocking his head to one side. "Say what?"

"I hypnotized you, Neji. Why do you think you're acting this way?"

Neji dropped Gaara on Naruto's lap.

Thinking he finally got through to him, Naruto stood up and Gaara rolled off his lap. Naruto quickly bent down and picked him up, letting Gaara rest on his shoulder.

"I'm sorry, ok? It's just that a lot of you have been hard to deal with recently and I had the opportunity and I just couldn't help myself."

None of this was registering to Neji. Since he was still under hypnosis, he felt as if everything he was experiencing was in a dream. What Naruto was telling him made little sense and he honestly didn't care.

Instead of getting mad, as Naruto expected he would, Neji flicked Naruto's ear and poked the tip of his nose with his finger.

"Did anything I just said to you make any sense?" Naruto snapped. "Or do you just not care enough to listen?"

"I barely listen to you anyway," said Neji.

Naruto growled and Gaara opened his eyes. He tried to stand, lifting his head off Naruto's shoulder, but his eyes felt so heavy.

Seeing the perfect opportunity, Neji smirked.

Naruto tried to get his attention. "Neji-"

Neji shoved Gaara into Naruto, making sure their lips made contact.

"Mm!" Naruto's eyes went wide.

Gaara opened his eyes slightly, feeling something on his lips. Then his eyes went as wide as Naruto's and he pulled away.

"Neji!" Naruto spat.

Neji was laughing hysterically. "You should see your face! Ha ha!"

"Why did you do that?!"

"I felt like it."

"Stupid question."

Gaara put a hand to his lips. "S- sorry…"

"It wasn't your fault. Neji shoved you." Naruto glared at Neji again. "Grow up, would you?"

Neji couldn't stop laughing. He found it so amusing. "Oh, it feels good to laugh like this. I don't know why I don't do it more."

"Don't do that again!" Naruto barked.

"I kind of want to. If I time it just right, I think I can make you use tongue."

"I'll kill you!"

The accidental kiss was still fresh in Naruto's mind, but Gaara had already forgotten all about it. He was starting to nod off again. Gaara tried to keep his head up with his hand, but it didn't do any good.

Neji tried to push Gaara again, but Naruto pulled Gaara away from him. "Stop messing around!"

"Aw, I missed." Neji started giggling. "Oh, this is so much fun for me."

Naruto started lecturing Neji, then had to pause, wondering if this was how Sakura and just about everyone else felt when they lectured him when he was younger. Now he had a point of reference.

Neji poked Gaara's cheek and Naruto slapped him on the wrist. "Knock it off!"

Gaara opened his eyes slightly. He tried using his sand again, but it was too much for him and Gaara started to drift off again.

It was hard to tell if this was a dream or not, he kept drifting off so much and the things he witnessed made little sense.

Closing his eyes felt good, though. He wanted to go back to sleep. He enjoyed it. It was hard for him to stay awake anyway. Not just because he was losing strength and felt tired, but because of Naruto. He had such a comforting scent. He could still smell the shampoo from the bath. Even though Naruto sounded annoyed, Gaara found his voice soothing. And his body was so warm.

"Get back here, you idiot!" Naruto yelled after Neji. "Maybe if I hit him hard enough, he'll wake up."

Gaara started to slide and Naruto caught him. He called his name but Gaara was too tired to respond. He just wanted to sleep. Naruto patted his back, hoping to wake him up but it wasn't working. Gaara leaned forward and nuzzled Naruto's neck as he made himself more comfortable, settling in for a nice nap.

Naruto kept trying, but nothing he did was working.

He put Gaara on his back and chased after Neji again. He was on his way to his uncle's now, but Shino kept distracting him, running every which way to escape even the most harmless of bugs.

Gaara mumbled, dozing on Naruto's back.

"Gaara, please, wake up."

Gaara slumped to the side and snored.

He couldn't take much more of this. Shino was making such a fuss and Naruto wanted to stop Neji before he did something stupid. At the same time, he had to get Gaara some help before the meeting. He also had to keep him out of harm's way.

It would be easier to make clones without Gaara on his back, but Neji popped all of them last time, treating it like a game. He didn't really need clones for this. This wasn't a strength or number issue. All he had to do was get them to pay attention long enough to hear him use the trigger. Then he could tell them to go back to normal and that would be the end of it.

But which was more important?

Shino was just making a fuss. As long as he was away from bugs, he would calm down. Neji was more easily distracted in this state. Even if he did reach his uncle's before Naruto could stop him, Naruto could explain that it wasn't really Neji. Technically, he wouldn't be lying. Since Neji wasn't acting like himself, maybe his uncle would see reason and let whatever Neji did slide. Gaara was the one in need of help. He had a meeting to go to and all his energy was being sapped.

Neji and Shino's situation was easily solved. All they had to do was hear Naruto use the trigger. A trigger wouldn't work on Gaara anymore and Naruto had no idea what was going on with him.

"Get it away!" Shino cried, running hysterically.

Gaara snored, using Naruto's shoulder as his pillow.

There were so many things going on at once. He had to pick something.

Naruto set Gaara against another building and went to try to solve the issue.

"Guys, enough! If you all just pay attention to me for one second..."

They weren't listening. Shino tried using Neji as a shield to keep the butterfly away from him and Neji kept making fun of Shino.

Naruto tried snapping his fingers but no one was paying any attention.

Figuring he could resolve this issue later, he went back to check on Gaara again.

He appeared to be sleeping but Gaara kept mumbling something in his sleep.

"What's that, Gaara?" Naruto was curious as to what Gaara was saying. Maybe he was dreaming. Maybe he was more awake than Naruto thought. "Gaara?"

"Ribbit."

"Huh?"

Gaara moved from a sitting position into a crouching position and started croaking like a frog.

"Ribbit."

Naruto stared, mystified at Gaara's strange actions. "What's this now?"

* * *

D8

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	27. Ribbit

**Chapter 27: Ribbit**

"Gaara?" Naruto couldn't figure out why Gaara was doing that. "Gaara?"

"Ribbit."

"Gaara, snap out of it."

He started hopping. "Ribbit. Ribbit."

Naruto shook him. "Gaara, knock it off."

He wasn't listening. He started hopping down the street on all fours, croaking like a frog. Naruto chased after him, avoiding Shino and Neji as they continued what they were doing.

Gaara was pretty quick. He slowed now every now and then. When he stopped, Naruto tried talking to him again but it was no use. Gaara's eyes were closed, leading Naruto to believe that Gaara was still asleep. He might have been dreaming he was a frog. If Gaara wasn't acting out his dream, then what else could this be? Another adverse effect of the hypnosis?

Gaara started hopping again. Naruto was about to shout his name when he saw Kankuro exiting one of the buildings Gaara was about to pass by.

Gasping in horror, Naruto ran in front of Gaara and threw himself into the doorway before Kankuro could leave.

"Where have you been?" Kankuro asked him. "You said you'd bring Gaara back to me before the meeting. This is cutting it awfully close."

"Yeah, no kidding."

"So where is he?"

"Oh. Around."

"Did he go to the meeting without me?" asked Kankuro. "So he wouldn't be late?"

"Well, you know Gaara." Naruto gave a nervous chuckle. "Just loves to keep you hopping. Heh heh."

Kankuro gave him sympathetic look. "Listen, I'm sorry I'm more anxious than usual. There's a lot going on and there are people who still don't respect Gaara as the Kazekage yet. There are tons of people who care about him now, but there are some who don't. It's all about impressions. I'm also trying to redeem myself after what happened."

"Oh, you don't say." Naruto didn't hear or see Gaara which made him nervous.

"When we were being assigned to escort Gaara to this village, some of the higher-ups didn't want me to be one of his guards, saying that I let him get captured on my watch last time. They all but said they didn't trust me with the task. They only allowed it because Gaara put in a good word for me. He said he wanted me to come with him. That's why I'm here."

"Uh-huh."

"If anything happens, I'm going to get chewed out for allowing it. And no doubt some of these asses are going to say it reflects poorly on the Kazekage. It sucks that some people judge Gaara for the littlest things. Something as simple as being late could make him appear irresponsible in the eyes on the higher-ups. So it's nothing personal, Naruto."

"No, I realized the same thing, which was why I decided to bring him back rather than wait until the last minute. I know it's important."

Kankuro chuckled. "I guess I should have explained more. But I know you wanted to spend time with him and Gaara never gets to visit people unless it's on business. I couldn't let him come all this way to be disappointed. Sorry I was so harsh."

"Don't worry about it."

"I probably got Gaara stressed out, too, with all my talk. I didn't mean to do that." Kankuro shrugged. "I'll let him know before his meeting if there's time. Either way, I hope you guys had fun."

"Tons."

"Great. I should have known I had nothing to worry about."

"Yeah. Heh heh."

"Ribbit. Ribbit."

Kankuro paused. "What was that?"

"Nothing."

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Gaara hopping by the building on all fours.

As Kankuro leaned to one side to look over Naruto's shoulder, Naruto threw out his arm to block Kankuro's view. "Ignore that."

Kankuro frowned. He grabbed Naruto's arm and forced it down, stepping out into the street.

"No..!" Naruto half whined, half moaned.

Kankuro stopped and stared open-mouthed at the redhead hopping around on all fours.

"G- Gaara?!"

He kept hopping. "Ribbit. Ribbit."

Kankuro ran up to his brother and bent down. "Gaara, what's wrong? What happened to you?"

Gaara kept his eyes closed. "Ribbit."

Kankuro spun around and glared at Naruto. "What the hell did you do?!"

"I..!"

"You what?!"

"I didn't… I don't know!"

Kankuro bent down again and tried to shake some sense into Gaara. "Why's he like this? What did you do to him?" Kankuro rubbed Gaara's back. "Gaara, can you hear me? Gaara?"

"I'm sorry. I don't know what happened."

Kankuro stood up. "What the hell happened to him?"

"I said, I don't know. He just started… Out of the blue, he…"

"He can't attend a meeting like this!" Kankuro shouted. "I should have known better than to trust you with him!"

That hurt. It really did.

While Kankuro kept trying to bring Gaara back to his senses, Naruto reflected on his actions.

He knew Gaara had a meeting but he kept stalling. He knew Gaara couldn't be late, but he kept coming up with excuses to make him stay longer. When Gaara couldn't, Naruto forced him to against his will with hypnosis. He knew Gaara had to be in good form for his meeting, but he messed with his head before he had to go in.

Gaara was his friend, but he was being selfish. He realized the importance of the meeting and Gaara's need to make a good impression a little late, but when he did realize it, he tried to return Gaara to normal. It blew up in his face, but his intentions were good. In the end, he just ended up making things worse.

Maybe Kankuro was right. Naruto shouldn't have been trusted with Gaara. He was in his care and he messed everything up before an important event.

He thought he was a good friend, but now…

"I'm sorry," Naruto said earnestly. "I didn't mean for this to happen. I'm sorry."

Kankuro was too busy with Gaara to respond.

Naruto numbly walked away. He wanted to make it better but every time he tried, he ended up making it worse. He didn't know what to do.

He stopped, looking around at the chaos around him. Everyone had converged on a single location. Lee was still trying to find a dance partner, Shino was still running scared from bugs, Neji kept speaking his mind no matter how cruel his opinion, and Gaara thought he was a frog.

How could he fix this?

"Naruto!" Shikamaru was calling for help. Kiba was biting his leg. Shikamaru tried kicking him off but he wouldn't go away. He just kept biting him. "Do something! Get him off!"

He didn't know what to do. He was afraid to make a move. What if he made it worse?

"Naruto," came another voice. This one was female. "What in the world is going on around here?"

He turned and saw Sakura with a horrified look on her face.

"Sakura, I…"

"Get it away!" Shino ran by and used Sai as a shield. This freed Neji up to carry out his plan to punch his relative and tutor in the face.

"Stop biting me, Kiba!" Shikamaru shouted, kicking him in the shoulder.

"Well, Naruto?" Sakura pressed.

Taking a deep breath, Naruto confessed the truth. "I used hypnosis on our friends and now they're like this."

"What? How did you..? Why did you do that?" she asked.

"I thought it'd be funny, but now I don't know what to do. I can't snap them out of it and anytime I try, I make things worse!"

"Kiba, stop it!" Shikamaru yelled again.

"He'll snap out of it if he hears a bell," Naruto told him.

"Does anybody have a bell?!"

Sakura moved aside as Lee pirouetted down the street. "How in the world did you do this?" she asked Naruto.

Naruto took out the jewel. "I used this. I got it at the shop we passed on the way back from the mission. Now I don't know how to fox this. I didn't mean for it to go this far. I didn't think it would be this bad."

"Can't you just tell them to return to normal?" she asked him.

"I tried that with Gaara and now he thinks he's a frog. I tried with Neji, but then when I changed Sai back, Neji started acting weird. I don't know how to fix this."

"Did you even know what you were doing when you hypnotized them?" she asked.

"No, he didn't. He winged it like an idiot," Shikamaru called from across the street. "Ow! Kiba! Ding, ding! There's the bell, now stop biting me!"

"It has to be a real bell, Shikamaru."

"I'm going to ring your bell in a minute!"

"Not before me," said Sakura. "And all these other people you've tormented with that jewel."

"I'm trying to change them back but I can't! I don't know what to do!"

"Sakura!" Lee grabbed Sakura from behind. "Dance with me! My soul is on fire as is my passion for you!"

"Lee, stop-" Sakura was pulled closer to Lee and he started spinning. "Ahh! Stop, Lee! Stop!"

He was holding her too tight.

"Lee!"

Naruto tried to pull them apart. "Lee, snap out of it!"

"I cannot stop dancing!" Lee cried out. "I am so full of energy and I cannot stop! I want to dance!"

"No, you don't. I just said you did. Now stop it! You're hurting Sakura!"

"Dance with me!" Lee pressed Sakura to his body.

"Stop!" Sakura shoved him away at the same time Naruto pulled Sakura backwards.

Naruto landed on his back but Sakura remained standing. As Lee moved to grab her again, Sakura stepped backwards. Seeing the heel of Sakura's boot come at his face, Naruto threw up his hands.

Sakura stomped her foot on the ground to brace herself and shoved Lee away from her.

Her heel just missed Naruto's head, coming down, instead, on the jewel on the ground.

When Naruto had fallen backwards on the ground, the necklace he had pulled out of his jacket landed beside him.

The force of Sakura's stomp shattered the jewel instantly.

* * *

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	28. Gratitude

**Chapter 28: Gratitude**

All at once, everything stopped.

Lee no longer wished to dance and Shino stopped running from the butterfly.

Kiba paused, looked own at Shikamaru's leg and got off him.

Down the street, Neji stopped just in front of his uncle's house, giving his head a shake. "Whoa. What just happened?" he asked himself. He felt like he had just been ripped out of a pleasant dream.

"Neji?" asked his uncle.

Neji collected himself and stood tall. "Yes, Uncle?"

"You're a little early for training today."

"Sorry, sir. I didn't want to be late."

"Well, come on in. Let's see how much we can get done before dinner."

"Yes, sir." Neji was still confused about what happened. He could barely remember how he got here. He thought he remembered but it didn't make any sense. He must have been daydreaming.

At the same time, Kiba scratched his head, giving Shikamaru a confused look. "Was I just biting you for some reason?"

"Yes, you were." Shikamaru pulled his leg in close and examined the wound. "I've got your teeth marks to prove it."

"Why was I doing that?"

"Ask someone else," Shikamaru told him.

Sai looked around in confusion. Though he had not been under any command a moment ago, he still felt the effects of the hypnosis being lifted from him. He felt as if he had been dreaming the past couple of days. He scarcely remembered following Naruto around like a loyal lapdog, but it didn't seem real to him.

Shino let the butterfly rest on his finger, wondering why he had been running a moment ago. Had he been sleepwalking?

"Sakura?" asked Lee, finally calming down. "Are you alright?"

"I think so."

Lee looked from side to side. "I just had the strangest dream. You were in it. I was dancing for some reason."

"You don't say."

Naruto sat up, looking at the pile of glitter and glass beside him in the dirt. He felt the chain around his neck. The jewel was gone. It was in a pile on the ground.

Sakura smashing the jewel with her foot must have broken the spell completely. No one was under hypnosis anymore.

To be sure, he snapped his fingers in Lee's face. "Sleep."

Lee blinked in confusion. "What?"

"Yes!" Naruto cheered. "It doesn't work anymore! You're cured!" Naruto spun around. "Gaara!"

At the same time everyone else had their spells broken, Gaara had returned to normal as well.

He opened his eyes and gave Kankuro curious look. To him, he had just woken up from a sound sleep.

"Gaara!" Kankuro gasped happily. "Are you ok?"

"Of course," he said. Gaara started to stand up with Kankuro's help. "Where's Naruto?"

"Gaara!" Naruto came running.

Kankuro stepped protectively in front of his brother, still angry about what happened, but Gaara gently pushed him aside.

Upon seeing Gaara standing on his own two feet and no drowsy expression, Naruto gave a huge sigh of relief and smiled. "You're ok. Thank goodness. You're finally back to normal."

Gaara didn't say a word. Naruto couldn't tell if he was mad at him or not. So far, no one else seemed to remember much of what went on while they were caught up in his spell.

Even if Gaara wasn't staring at him to implicate guilt, Naruto still wanted to confess and apologize to him. Even if Gaara didn't remember, Naruto wanted to come clean anyway.

"Gaara, I am so, so sorry." Naruto bowed his head. "I didn't mean for things to get so far out of control. I just… I just wanted to hang out with you but you were so obsessed over the time and I knew you wouldn't hold still and be able to enjoy yourself. And when I saw how stressed out you were, I took it upon myself to… I just wanted you to have a nice time and hang out with me. Instead I messed everything up. I'm sorry. I understand if you're pissed. I would be, too. Manipulating you like that."

Gaara's expression never changed. Naruto expected Gaara to scream at him or punch him, but he didn't. Instead, he spoke to him calmly.

"I understand why you did it. And I'm not angry with you."

"You're not?" asked Naruto in surprise.

"You're not?" Kankuro asked after he did.

Gaara gave his head a slow shake. "No. In fact, I'm glad you did it."

"You are?!" Naruto and Kankuro said at once, completely stunned.

Gaara nodded. "Yes. You were right, Naruto. I was under a lot of stress. There was no way we could have a nice visit under those circumstances, even if I wanted to. I'm used to stress. I'm used to dealing with a lot of things. I thought I could handle it. In truth, I was just suppressing it. I needed to face it, not muddle through. It was causing me to become even more stressed without realizing it."

Being the Kazekage was a lot of hard work, but Gaara chose not to complain. He dealt with it all. All the paperwork, all the complaints of his people, the criticism of his elders, the knowledge of what he had done in the past and how it affected his future. He knew what he was getting into, so he felt there was no need to complain about any of it. It was just something he had to deal with and accept.

He was wrong. He hadn't noticed, but it was affecting him. He needed some sort of release before all the stress built up inside of him and finally erupted.

"I didn't realize just how stressed I was until you did what you did," Gaara went on. "Putting me under that spell was actually a good thing. I needed to de-stress. Before spending some time with you, as you said, I was so obsessed with the time. I couldn't enjoy myself. I wanted so much to hang out with you, but I couldn't with all the stress pressing down on me. Worrying about the meeting and letting so many people down. Especially Kankuro."

"Me?" his brother asked in surprise.

"I know how the others felt about you being my escort after what happened a few months ago. They didn't think you could handle it. I put in a good word for you. If anything happened, the higher-ups would be angry with both of us. You for making another mistake, and me for appointing you. They would think I lacked good judgement. They would think you couldn't be trusted and you would be hurt emotionally. I didn't want to let you down. I would be responsible. If I took too long and was late for whatever reason, they would hold you accountable, even if it was my doing, simply because you were left in charge of me."

Kankuro felt humbled that Gaara cared so much about him, and at the same time ashamed. He didn't mean to cause Gaara additional stress. He had no idea it was weighing him down this much.

All because he had to go on and on about being responsible, Gaara couldn't have a nice time with his friend.

"Gaara, I'm so sorry," Kankuro said softly. "I shouldn't have put all that extra weight on your shoulders. If only I hadn't gone on and on, you could have had a nice time and not worried. I didn't mean to make you feel that way. I was taking things too seriously. I'm sorry for that."

Gaara shook his head. "It's alright. I understand."

Kankuro backed off when he saw Gaara make eye contact with Naruto. He wanted to address him now without interruption.

"I couldn't relax and the stress kept building. All the work I have to do on a daily basis and this meeting. I couldn't sit still." Gaara gave Naruto a small smile. "After what you did, I felt a lot better. The stress was just… gone. The stress on top of the other stress was making things seem worse than they really were. I was able to calm down and have fun."

"Really?"

He nodded. "You knew what I needed. It wasn't a selfish act. Not the way I see it. And based on what you said a moment ago, you weren't being completely selfish. You wanted to help me out. Hanging out with you, doing those activities, playing… It helped me get rid of all that stress. As a result, my body feels lighter and my mind is clear again. All those thoughts and worries were filling my skull, I barely had room for anything else. Now I can think with ease. The aches and pains are gone from my body and I feel refreshed."

Naruto was amazed. "You do? Really? So… it was a good thing? What I did to you?"

"Did to me, did for me. Either way, it helped me and I am grateful. I feel so much better now."

Naruto smiled. "I'm glad to hear it."

He needed a break. To just relax and not worry about anything. To do something other than work. To take a hot bath or be a child again and play with friends. It was the most fun Gaara had had in a long time. He could laugh and smile without having to think about it. It felt so good.

"It also made me realize something else," Gaara continued. "Kankuro."

"Yes?"

Gaara turned his head. "I don't care what the others have to say about this. We are scheduling breaks every now and then into my workload. Times when I just take a moment and work out my stresses."

"But…"

"I know some might think it's laziness and irresponsibility, but it is purposeful. Besides, if they don't like me, they're going to find fault with anything I do, so it doesn't matter. I know now that I can't just deal with it. Not the way I have been. Working because it's my job and ignoring what it was doing to me. Overlooking my stress. Thinking I could handle it and that it wasn't a big deal. I know better now. I can feel the difference. And if they chose to complain, we can simply explain to them that a rested Kazekage is better suited for taking care of an entire village. Wouldn't you agree?"

Kankuro wasn't sure what to say.

"Before, my mind was tired. If things continued that way, I wouldn't be very competent," said Gaara. "A stressed-out Kazekage doesn't bode well for the village. If I were to take occasional breaks, my mind will be more clear and I'll be able to run the village more efficiently. They want one who will be able to run the village and run it well, correct? If they complain, we'll tell them that. Surely, they take breaks every now and then. They wouldn't want to be found guilty of a double-standard."

Gaara was feeling a lot better. He understood what he needed now. He wasn't going to wait until things got this bad again. Even if there was paperwork on his desk, he would push it aside for a moment and take a much-needed break then go back to it. There was nothing wrong with that.

Even before becoming the Kazekage, Gaara was mindful of what people thought of him. He worried about how he was perceived. Even when he wanted to take the position, how people thought of him was almost always on his mind. He wanted to work hard for the good of his people, but he also wanted to make up for his past. Even as the leader, he was still worried about what others thought of him. Now, instead of being a monster, he was worried about being seen as an unfit ruler.

He was responsible for so much. How could he not be stressed?

Kankuro nodded. "Fine with me," he said with a grin. "We can tell them to shove it if they find fault in any of that. A less stressed Kazekage makes less mistakes, after all."

Gaara grinned at Naruto. "It was a little late, but I'm glad I got to play with some friends."

Naruto blinked. "Wait. You remember that?"

Gaara shrugged. "A little. Most of it feels like a vivid dream, but there are parts I remember clearly. It was enjoyable. But no more chocolate for a while."

Naruto chuckled sheepishly.

Gaara looked back at Kankuro. "I believe we have a meeting to get to."

"Oh, right! I think we still got time," Kankuro said, checking his watch. "You still up for it?"

"We came all this way," said Gaara. "I think I can handle it just fine."

"Ok." Kankuro looked around. "What's the quickest way to get there?"

Sakura stepped forward and pointed. "I'll show you the way. Let's go."

"Follow her, Gaara."

Gaara gave Naruto a quick nod and left with his brother and Sakura.

Naruto was so relieved that Gaara wasn't angry with him. He was surprised he was able to help him so much. He wanted to help him, but he was afraid he made things worse. He was worried he was being too selfish, but his intentions were good. He managed to make Gaara feel better and enjoy himself.

"You ass!" Kiba smacked Naruto in the back of the head. "What did you do?"

Naruto pressed a hand to his head. "What?"

"What?" Kiba growled. "I distinctly remember seeing you before things got weird. What the hell did you do to us?"

Shino was standing beside Kiba looking extremely annoyed. "You asked me to remove my goggles and shortly after that, I find myself on the ground. You did something, don't deny it."

"Uh…"

"You had us acting like idiots," Kiba snapped. "I don't remember most of it, but I know you had me act like a dog. I was biting Shikamaru's leg, for crying out loud."

"To be honest," said Shino, "the village might not have taken notice of it, as you acting like a dog is not completely out of the ordinary."

"Out with it!" Kiba barked, ignoring Shino's remark. "Why did you do that to us?"

"So Naruto is responsible?" asked Sai. "I thought something was odd. There are blanks in my memory. I could have sworn I was following Naruto around most of the time, but I feel as if I had been sleeping during the duration."

"I do remember dancing, but did not find it humiliating at all," said Lee. "It was rather fun, actually."

"Nobody asked you!" Kiba barked again. "Well, Naruto?"

"I'm sorry, guys. I didn't mean for things to go so far. I tried snapping you out of it but I made things worse," Naruto explained. "On the plus side, the thing that did this to you is now gone. Sakura stepped on it and broke it so you don't have to worry about me doing it anymore. And since it got broken, everyone's back to normal."

"It's far from no harm done," Kiba growled. "I'm gonna-"

"Now hold on a minute," Shikamaru said, wedging himself between the two.

"You're just taking his side because he didn't do anything to you," said Kiba.

Though that may have been true, Shikamaru took pity on Naruto and wanted to save him from a thrashing. He had also overheard what Gaara had said and realized that Naruto didn't deserve to get the stuffing beat out of him.

"Naruto admitted he messed up," said Shikamaru. "It's a start, isn't it? He could have covered it up with a lie but he didn't."

"He still did that to us."

"Is it really as bad as you think?" Shikamaru asked them. "I mean, it's not so bad if you don't remember it, right?"

They paused.

"It's true," said Shino. "You don't have much to be humiliated about if you can't recall the events."

"So pretend it never happened?" Kiba asked angrily.

"Did he really do anything that bad?" Shikamaru asked. "It's not like he told you to run naked down the street."

Naruto snickered at the thought, causing Shikamaru to shush him and tell him he wasn't helping his case.

"Aside from the mild short-term amnesia…" Shino began.

"I actually think he helped you guys," Shikamaru cut in. "Gaara just said that he didn't hold a grudge against Naruto and was actually grateful for what he did. He said he felt better afterward. Said it relieved some of his stress. I don't know about you guys."

They thought a while, then Kiba spoke up.

"Now that you mention it, I do feel a little better. Like I just played some fun games or something."

"I do feel strangely refreshed," said Sai.

Shino nodded his head. "They do say that hypnotherapy can help relieve stress. It's supposed to be very relaxing."

"I do not hold a grudge," said Lee. "I feel great. No one was taken advantage of. It is like a new form of training."

Kiba sighed. He already got a punch in anyway. "Alright. I'll let this slide. But if it ever happens again…"

"It won't. The jewel's gone. I told you."

One by one, they all started to leave. Shino was the last to go. He started to leave, then turned and walked back to Naruto.

"For the record," he said darkly, "I do have sensitive eyes. Whatever that jewel did to me must have been more effective because of that. I remember taking off my goggles and that's it. The others said they remembered seeing you swing it in front of them, but I don't."

"Why are you telling me this?" Naruto asked him.

"Because I don't know how I reacted after seeing the jewel without my goggles. For your sake, I hope I didn't act like a fool."

Did he really mean that, or was Shino trying to cover up something else? Naruto couldn't tell if Shino was trying to throw him off or not. Frankly, he didn't care.

Shino walked away without another word.

Naruto sighed. "I'm glad that's over."

"Let's hope you learned your lesson," said Shikamaru. "If Gaara hadn't opened his mouth when he did, I doubt I would have been able to hold them all back. Your beating would have been justifiable. Since you helped Gaara out and he admitted that, I was able to convince them to go easy on you."

"I really did try to help him," said Naruto. "And I was only trying to have some fun. Things just got out of control."

"Next time, do your research before jumping right in to something you don't understand. You can't always wing it."

"Yeah, I get it."

* * *

It was late when the meeting concluded. Crickets chirped and buzzed as Gaara returned to the hotel with his brother. Gaara looked up at night sky, breathing in the cool air. The air wasn't as cold as the air back in the Sand at night. It wasn't as crisp. But it did feel good.

"Well, I'm bushed," Kankuro said as he got changed. "I'm going to bed. I'll leave the door unlocked so you can get back in."

Instead of an adjoining room, Gaara and his brother were sharing one while the second bodyguard slept in the room next door. Knowing how Gaara liked to travel at night and watch the moon, Kankuro would leave the door unlocked as a curtesy.

"Actually," said Gaara, "I think I'll stay in the room tonight and get some sleep."

Kankuro looked at him in surprise. He never actually saw Gaara sleep before, even after the beast was extracted from him. He figured if Gaara slept at all, he wanted to do it in private. Since they would be sharing a room, he thought Gaara wasn't going to sleep at all and wander around until the sun rose.

"You sure?"

"Yes." Gaara sat down on the bed next to Kankuro. "I'm kind of tired."

Kankuro grinned. "Well, the meeting took a while. I'm glad everything went well."

"Yes," said Gaara. "I had a level head, a clear mind. I wasn't stressed or nervous at all. Not in the slightest."

"I can't imagine you being nervous," said Kankuro. "You're pretty fearless."

"Anyone can be nervous. Showing it is another matter." Gaara pulled the covers over his legs. "Having concerns makes one nervous. I am responsible for an entire village now. That coupled with the knowledge of how some people still view me, it's hard not to feel nervous from time to time."

Kankuro finished changing and got into bed. It was still hard to believe that even Gaara got nervous from time to time. He was very good at not showing it.

Knowing the weight on his shoulders, Kankuro understood that it was impossible for even Gaara not to feel such an emotion.

"But I'm glad it all went well." Gaara laid down.

Kankuro did the same. They looked out the window at the sleeping village, watching the stars twinkle above.

"Hey, Gaara?"

"Hm?"

"Before heading back tomorrow… Do you want to have breakfast with Naruto?"

"Sure."

Though things did get a bit chaotic, Kankuro came to realize that Naruto had done Gaara a favor today. If Naruto hadn't done what he did, Gaara would be stressed out and overwhelmed. Whether he masked it or not, he would still feel it. The meeting might not have gone as well as it had. But everything worked out for them. They were on time, the meeting went well and Gaara wasn't as stressed.

Gaara was right to thank him. But even so…

"I'll be joining you, of course."

"Fine," said Gaara.

A restful nap in a safe place, an afternoon playing with friends, a snack and a hot bath. It was just what he needed to recharge and get his mind off things.

After his experience with Naruto today, though rested, Gaara felt calm enough to fall sleep that night without hassle.

He could finally relax.

* * *

Please review! ^-^


	29. Something To Remember

**Chapter 29: Something To Remember**

The following morning, Gaara and Kankuro met up with Naruto for breakfast. Kankuro kept a watchful eye on the two of them, making sure Naruto didn't try anything funny again. They had a nice time, but their visit was a short one. They really had to get going back to the Sand Village.

"Glad your meeting went well," said Naruto. "This is yours. You left it at my place yesterday."

Gaara took the gourd from Naruto and strapped it to his back. "Thanks."

"Before you go, one more thing."

Kankuro stepped closer to Gaara, suspecting Naruto was up to something.

Instead, Naruto handed them a small box with a red ribbon on it. "Sakura asked me to give these to you. Cookies from the bakery."

Gaara took the box which quickly left his hands and fell into Kankuro's.

"For the trip back home, I guess," Naruto went on. "Have them whenever. The stuff they make at the bakery taste amazing."

"Thank you."

Kankuro's mouth was too full to say anything. He had managed to reach inside the small box without removing the ribbon to get at the leaf shaped cookies.

Gaara nodded his head to Naruto and turned towards the main gate. Kankuro followed him, shoving another cookie into his mouth.

"See you next time!" Naruto called after them. "Bye!"

They waved without turning around.

As they left the village, Gaara glanced over at Kankuro and said, "Don't eat all of them. Temari might like to try one."

"You might get sick, too," added the other bodyguard.

"Calm down," said Kankuro. "Besides, she already got something from the bakery." He gestured to the bag on his back. "It's in here."

Gaara wasn't able to see what was inside Kankuro's bag, so he inquired with his eyes for Kankuro to explain.

"One of the Leaf guys handed me this box and said there was one cookie in there for each of us from the same bakery."

"What Leaf guy?" asked the bodyguard.

"That Shikamaru guy. Said the last time Temari was here, he had to be her escort and knew she liked the stuff at the bakery. Since she didn't come this time, he said this way she would still be able to eat something from there. That way she won't be disappointed or jealous when we come back with this box or something like that."

"Just in case you eat all of them, is that right?"

"Hey, I never get to have these. Sweet tooth or not, I'm a sucker for rare goods." Kankuro strapped the box to his bag. "I've had my fill of them anyway. Even if Shikamaru didn't get one for each of us, she'd still get her cookies."

Gaara paid attention to the road ahead, wondering if his brother took notice to Shikamaru's unique observations. Despite being her escort a while back, he was still able to recollect the bakery she liked. Moreover, making sure she would get at least one cookie from said place.

"I wonder what kind of things Naruto would like from our village," he wondered aloud. "We were given these cookies. It would be nice to return the gesture."

"If Kankuro doesn't eat them all first."

"Shut up!"

* * *

Things soon returned to normal in the Leaf Village and no one mentioned the strange things that happened the other day. Most seemed to have forgotten all about it, though Naruto did find it hard to walk down the street without bugs swarming around his face. Apparently, Shino did hold a grudge, but for all of two hours. Then Naruto had no trouble walking down the street without buzzing in his ears.

He met up with his friends at the convenient store. Choji was loading up his arms full of potato chips while he and Shikamaru chatted. Sakura and Ino were reading a magazine together, tugging it away from the other when one found something of interest. Kiba was holding a magazine in Neji's face, telling him to read the article but he wasn't interested. He turned his back to Kiba and tried to finish reading the one in his hands.

Sai, who had been reading quietly was the first one to notice Naruto when he walked in.

"This polish would look great on me, don't you think?" Ino asked, pointing to the bottom of the page.

"You think everything looks good on you," said Sakura. "Why are you even bothering to ask?"

"Well, that's true. But it's still nice to hear how good you look from other people."

"Dress up a pig, it's still a pig."

Ino pulled the magazine away from Sakura. "Rude, much?"

"Who's rude? Pulling something out of my hands while I'm still reading," Sakura growled.

"Says here that putting nail polish on bug bites is supposed to help relieve itching," Sai said, holding up his magazine. "That's interesting."

"Might want to tell that to Naruto," said Kiba. "Looks like he needs it after Shino finished with him."

"They didn't bite me. Just swarmed me."

Neji lowered the magazine in his hands. "Why would Shino be angry with you? Loaded question, I know. But usually Shino doesn't retaliate unless it was something that really pissed him off."

"Or if he's in the mood for it," Kiba added, having been the victim before.

"It's not important," said Naruto.

"Oh, that's right," said Sai. "We agreed not to talk about it."

"Talk about what?" asked Neji.

"I can't tell you because we agreed not to mention it," Sai told him.

This only piqued Neji's interest. "Mention what? And who's we?"

"Everyone Naruto-"

"Doesn't matter!" Naruto said quickly. "The past is the past!"

Neji rolled his eyes. "None of this should surprise me. People have been acting weird lately. Past couple of days, actually."

"But things are normal now."

"That's true," said Neji. "Since the matter is resolved I don't really care what went on."

"Even if it involved you?" asked Sai.

Neji looked up again. "What involved me?"

Naruto threw his hand over Sai's mouth, shushing him.

Apparently, Neji didn't remember what happened to him. Neither did the others for the most part. They only knew something went on because they all snapped out of it in the same place at the same time in the company of one another. Neji was alone when he came to his senses. Because of this, the matter was quickly forgotten. The others didn't remember the details, but they remembered being around Naruto and knew they had been acting strangely.

It also depended on how and when they came to their senses. Kiba had been biting Shikamaru when he came to and knew that wasn't normal. That was how he knew something happened. Neji was walking down the street by himself. Nothing too out of the ordinary there. He just couldn't remember how he got there, but he assumed it was because he was deep in thought which wasn't all that unusual. That was why he was able to put it out of his mind so quickly. As a result, the incident was soon forgotten since he wasn't dwelling on the details.

However, if something jogged his memory, that could all change. Since Neji wasn't around at the time, he had no idea Naruto was involved and hadn't agreed to let the incident slide.

"Whatever." Neji looked over at the girls bickering nearby. If they simply picked up a second magazine, they wouldn't have to share and wouldn't be in a tug of war over the one in their hands. Then again, it was more about the other's comment than sharing.

Sakura shoved Ino who knocked over a jar on the shelf behind her which shattered on the ground. That ended their bickering. They grew quiet and moved away, hoping they wouldn't be blamed for the mess.

Kiba smelled the pungent pickle juice and looked over. "Clean up aisle one!" he called playfully.

"Shut up," Ino growled.

"What?" he asked with a shrug. "They'll clean it so you won't get your pretty nails dirty, if that's what you're worried about."

"If it was an accident, they'll clean it up for you," said Neji. "That's what the staff is for."

"Does shoving count as an accident?" asked Sai.

"Think they'll make them clean it up?" Naruto asked.

"Make it shine," Kiba teased.

"Come on," said Naruto. "They can't really make you clean a mess, can they?"

"Not unless they're in maid outfits," Kiba snickered.

Ino clubbed him over the head with the magazine.

"I think Sakura would look cute in a maid costume," said Naruto.

Sakura hurled a can of beans at Naruto's head.

"If that thing opens, you're cleaning it," said Kiba.

"What a waste of good food," Choji moaned. "Don't bully the can."

"It's not about the cleaning. It's about making us pay for it. The 'you break it, you buy it' policy."

"News flash," Kiba said, snapping his fingers to get their attention. "No one actually does that."

"Yeah, they do," said Naruto. "Believe me, I know. And depending on the mess, they might make you clean it."

"Might."

"But Sakura, it was a compliment," Naruto whined. "Why'd you have to throw that at me? Maids are cute."

"They take orders, too."

Sakura held up her fist but didn't swing it.

As they argued and teased each other, a staff member came over with a mop and started to clean the pickle jar spill.

Neji frowned, trying to recall a forgotten memory. Something seemed so familiar about this.

"Cleaning…" Why did that ring a bell?

He searched the far corners of his memory but couldn't unlock that door. He couldn't remember fully. All he could do was peek in the window to find bits and pieces of what went on the other day.

He couldn't make out the details, but he got a very blurry memory of himself giggling and seeing Naruto's blue eyes. He also recalled a blurry bathhouse and something about playing games on the floor of someone's apartment.

Someone's dirty apartment.

Cleaning.

He was cleaning the apartment.

Someone else was there ordering him around.

A jewel.

Blond hair and blue eyes. Such blue eyes.

That voice.

That face.

Neji ripped the magazine in half. "Naruto!" He remembered enough to know who was to blame. "You turned me into your personal maid?!"

"Eep."

* * *

I think Neji just bought that magazine. ^^'

The end!

I hope you enjoyed.

And thank you all for the kind reviews! Thank you so much.

Thanks for reading and please review! ^-^


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